There’s more to life than Memogate: Gilani
PM says he has asked parliamentary committee to redraft policies without army’s interference.
LAHORE:
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani invited print journalists to the State Guest House in Lahore on Sunday to hold forth on the diverse issues affecting the country.
He tackled the Memogate issue head on. Although Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif has the right to take the issue to court, the issue was a trivial one and the PML-N chief’s decision was unwise, the premier said.
Gilani also questioned Nawaz’s lack of legal action on more pressing issues for Pakistanis, implying his motives were purely political in a personal sense. He added that the court’s decision should be respected and that the time for politicians to accuse each other of treason was over.
The prime minister also announced that he has asked the parliamentary committee on national security to draft a new and uniform national policy on the Kashmir issue, the nuclear arsenal and Pakistan’s new terms of engagement with the US, Nato and Isaf – without interference from ‘outsiders’, including the army.
On the Bonn conference, Gilani reiterated his justifications for Pakistan’s non-attendance, again bringing up his phone call with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in which Karzi asked the premier to reconsider the decision. He reportedly told Karzai that “your soil is being used against Pakistan” and reminded him that over 40,000 Pakistanis have died in the ‘war on terror’.
In addition, according to Gilani, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned him last night to try to persuade Pakistan to change its mind.
Gilani also said that the various committees which looked into the incident all unanimously decided to boycott the conference. He said that the “collective wisdom” had therefore made the choice. The PM feels that Pakistan can stand up to any “repercussions” from not attending the conference, adding that there would be no damage done to the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2011.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani invited print journalists to the State Guest House in Lahore on Sunday to hold forth on the diverse issues affecting the country.
He tackled the Memogate issue head on. Although Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif has the right to take the issue to court, the issue was a trivial one and the PML-N chief’s decision was unwise, the premier said.
Gilani also questioned Nawaz’s lack of legal action on more pressing issues for Pakistanis, implying his motives were purely political in a personal sense. He added that the court’s decision should be respected and that the time for politicians to accuse each other of treason was over.
The prime minister also announced that he has asked the parliamentary committee on national security to draft a new and uniform national policy on the Kashmir issue, the nuclear arsenal and Pakistan’s new terms of engagement with the US, Nato and Isaf – without interference from ‘outsiders’, including the army.
On the Bonn conference, Gilani reiterated his justifications for Pakistan’s non-attendance, again bringing up his phone call with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in which Karzi asked the premier to reconsider the decision. He reportedly told Karzai that “your soil is being used against Pakistan” and reminded him that over 40,000 Pakistanis have died in the ‘war on terror’.
In addition, according to Gilani, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned him last night to try to persuade Pakistan to change its mind.
Gilani also said that the various committees which looked into the incident all unanimously decided to boycott the conference. He said that the “collective wisdom” had therefore made the choice. The PM feels that Pakistan can stand up to any “repercussions” from not attending the conference, adding that there would be no damage done to the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2011.