KUWAIT -- The Kuwaiti cabinet held its weekly meeting at Al-Saif Palace here on Monday with the emphasis being placed on the recent public controversy stemming from the seditious remarks of Yasser Yahya Abdullah Habib Gholam Al-Habib.
At the beginning of the meeting, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah who chaired the meeting briefed the cabinet members on the letter received by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from Pakistani Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari.
The letter deals with the latest developments of the situation in Pakistan following the unprecedented flood disaster, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan told reporters.
"Concerning Al-Habib's issue, the cabinet reviewed the legal steps taken by the Ministry of Interior to bring the man to justice under the charges of slandering Muslim icons, harming the national unity and fomenting sectarian sedition among the Kuwaiti society," Al-Roudhan disclosed.
"Minister of Interior Lt.-Gen. (rtd) Sheikh Jaber Khaled Al-Sabah told the cabinet that Al-Habib had been given several court sentences over his shameful acts which target the national interests and the social coherence, and disseminate hatred.
"The Kuwaiti Public Prosecution several Arab and foreign countries as well as the Interpol of the issue. As the security services refused to renew the man's passport, he used a passport issued by another country to travel," the minister recalled.
The cabinet weighed whether he deserves the Kuwaiti nationality after committing shameful crimes which drew condemnation from all walks of life in Kuwait.
Acting on the provisions of Article 13 of the Nationality Act of 1959 and the subsequent amendments, the cabinet approved the move to withdraw the Kuwaiti nationality from Al-Habib and his dependents who gained the nationality for association with him.
"The cabinet instructed the concerned departments to complete the legal actions to bring the man to justice for the shameful crimes he has committed," Al-Roudhan revealed.
On behalf of the government, Sheikh Jaber Al-Hamad Al-Sabah expressed relief over the understanding, shown by the brotherly MPs, the local mass media and the broad social spectrum, of the legal steps adopted by the security services to deescalate sedition and maintain the coherence of the social texture.
"The cabinet reaffirmed commitment to enforce all provisions of the laws on all people without exception while preserving the public liberties and sticking to the democratic approach in which we take pride.
"It called on everybody to shoulder their responsibility for serving the national interests of the country and maintaining the unity and safety of the society," the minister added.
© KUNA (Kuwait News Agency) 2010
