Manama: Kuwait has no intention to dissolve its parliament, Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said on Sunday.
"I am the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, and I will not tolerate the breaking of the law," he said.
"We are the ones who protect the Constitution and there is no intention to amend it. The parliament will not be dissolved and it will continue its term," Shaikh Sabah told editors-in-chief of local newspapers, online editions of Kuwaiti media reported.
The Emir was referring to calls by Kuwaiti lawmakers to dissolve the parliament as a solution to the recent political standoff between the government and the national assembly.
Last week, a forum organised by opposition MPs to put pressure on the government among reports that it was planning to amend the Constitution degenerated into a scuffle between protesters, including lawmakers, and the anti-riot police.
Each side blamed the other for the confrontation.
The Emir reportedly said yesterday that he regretted what happened at the forum held at the home of MP Jamaan Al Harbash, but urged the lawmakers to think of the higher interests of the nation.
"I was in contact through the phone with the security staff; unfortunately, the situation changed in the last five minutes because of the people at the forum," the Emir reportedly told the media heads.
PM to be questioned
Kuwaiti opposition MPs decided on Sunday to delay by one day plans to question the prime minister in parliament over a police crackdown on a public gathering, MP Mussallam Al Barrak said.
"Tomorrow [Monday] we will file to question the prime minister over undermining the dignity of people and imposing restrictions on freedoms," Al Barrak, spokesman for opposition Popular Action Bloc, told reporters.
With input from AFP
