Manama: A senior Kuwaiti official has stressed the significance of the endorsement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) security pact by the parliament.

Khalid Sulaiman Al Jarallah said that the challenges and dangers in the region demanded that the parliament pass the pending Gulf agreement that has been supported and opposed almost in equal measures by Kuwaiti lawmakers.

“You know how I feel about the security agreement and I gave my opinion before the Daesh group emerged,” he said, referring to the extremist militants who have taken up large parts of Syria and Iraq. “I still believe in the significance and necessity of the pact so that we can avert all dangers, be they from Daesh or from any other group,” Al Jarallah told the media on Tuesday evening as he attended the celebrations by the Saudi embassy in Kuwait City of the kingdom’s national day.

The official added that all countries in the region were targeted by threats.

“This requires Kuwait to be a member of the international alliance to combat Daesh. Kuwait will have a humanitarian and logistical role in providing full land and air support,” he said.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council - played a role in the first wave of attacks on Daesh targets this week. Oman is the sixth GCC member state.

The GCC security agreement at the centre of a standoff in Kuwait so deep that lawmakers postponed its review to the next legislative term ostensibly to give more time for constitution experts in the parliament to study it and assess whether some of its provisions clashed with the articles of the Kuwaiti constitution.

The pact has been referred to the lawmakers by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee after its members recommended its rejection by three votes to two. The committee said that it proceeded to the internal vote after a panel of constitution experts failed to present their views on it within a one-month time frame and asked for an extension.

The Kuwaiti parliament’s fracture over the merit of the security accord endorsed by the other five GCC members has stalled its full approval by the Council.

Those who oppose it claim that some, if not most, of its provisions are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Kuwait constitution and undermine the sovereignty of the country. They argue that it affects the rights of Kuwaiti citizens and reduces their freedoms and their practice of democracy.

Supporters of the agreement argue that it reinforces Kuwait’s commitment to fighting all types of crime and to consolidating common Gulf security.

They say that the pact helps Kuwait deal better and more effectively with trans-border crimes and upgrade its preparedness to work with other GCC countries in tackling new forms of international criminal activities.

The government has consistently rejected allegations that the agreement violated the constitution and often stressed its significance for the country and the region.