News
Friday, December 23, 2011
Democracy in danger as ‘conspirators’ are plotting to bring down civilian govtNo ‘state within state’, PM tells army
* Gilani says army has to be answerable to parliament
* Nobody is above law
* If somebody thinks that they are not under government, they are mistaken
By Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a hard-hitting speech on Thursday, said conspirators were plotting to bring down his government and delivered an unprecedented tirade against the powerful military, saying that “state within the state would be unacceptable”.
The leader of a government that had been lurching from crisis to crisis, most recently the memo controversy, declared that democracy is in danger because of the conspiracies being hatched to topple his government. An otherwise cool-minded and calm Gilani also sent a strong signal to country’s security establishment when he reminded it to remain within the ambit of constitution.
“Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up the elected government,” Gilani told a gathering at the National Arts Gallery. He did not specifically blame the military, but later in the day he made clear in a speech to parliament that the army must operate under the control of the government. “They have to be answerable to this parliament,” Gilani said. “They cannot be a state within a state.” He called the army “disciplined”, saying that they “follow the constitution” and “will remain under the government”.
Commenting on the reports that the Defence Ministry had conceded to the Supreme Court that it had no control over the armed forces or ISI when it submitted its affidavit over memo case, Gilani stated that if they say that they are not under the Ministry of Defence, then we should get out of this slavery, this parliament and system has no importance then, and you are not sovereign. He went on to say that the military is subservient to constitution and no institution is above parliament because they are being paid from the national exchequer, from your revenue and from your taxes, Gilani told the lawmakers.
The prime minister stated that if somebody thinks that they are not under the government, they are mistaken. “They are under the government and they shall remain under the government, because we are the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan.” The premier said whether or nor we remain in power, we will continue to fight for the rights of people of Pakistan.
Speaking in the National Assembly after opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan expressed concern over the role of agencies, Gilani said that the government respects the armed forces and has supported the military in the worst of times, however, he added that they are subservient to the government and will remain under the its control. The prime minister reminded that it was his government which had stood by the security forces over the Osama Bin Laden killing, the November 26 NATO attack and the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. “In the worst circumstances we doubled their salaries. They have to be accountable to parliament,” he declared.
On the judicial commission probing the May 2 US raid in Abbottabad which led to the killing of Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, Gilani said, “We are being asked by the judicial commission about issuance of visas (to Americans). But I want to ask how was (bin Laden) living here for the past six years? On what type of visa was he living here? Why was security not taken care of, if he entered Pakistan without a visa?” Gilani’s comments are a sharp turn for the prime minister. He rejected the notion of a standoff between the army and the civilian leadership less than a week ago. The Supreme Court opened its hearing into the memo scandal since then and has demanded a reply from President Asif Ali Zardari.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk