KUWAIT: Nineteen lawmakers met yesterday to study the harsh jail terms issued by the appeals court on around 67 opposition activists, including three MPs, for storming the National Assembly. The lawmakers said in a statement that the ruling has breached the law and the constitution and the court issued the verdict before completing the legal procedures, including arguments by the defense lawyers.

They called on the speaker of the Assembly to call for a special session on Sunday to study national reconciliation and a law for a general pardon to cover all those jailed on opinion cases.

Meanwhile, rapporteur of the Assembly’s financial and economic affairs committee MP Safa Al-Hashem said yesterday the panel approved a proposal to grant pensioners loans up to KD 20,000 through the establishment of a special fund by the social security agency.

Hashem said the committee will meet today to study a government draft law calling to allow the ministry of finance to borrow up to KD 25 billion to finance the budget deficit. Hashem said that the bill does not have any cap on interest rates, which is very serious and will overburden public finances. She said that the annual installments for such a debt will be enormous because of the interest rates, adding that Kuwait does not need the loans because it has sufficient funds.

By B Izzak