News
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Army not a threat to democracy: Gilani* PM says no state institution, military or people of Pakistan want coup
* ‘Trust deficit’ exists between Pakistan and US
DAVOS: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday said that there was no chance of any military coup in Pakistan, as the army desired democracy and stability in the country.
In an interaction with the media on the fringes of the ongoing annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Gilani said, “I don’t think there will be a coup in Pakistan ever. There is no threat to democracy.”
Gilani said no state institution, military or the people of Pakistan want a coup and all are in favour of democracy.
The international media was particularly interested in the change in the Pakistan-United States ties following the NATO attack on a border post that killed 24 soldiers.
Gilani said the incident was a “turning point” and that it created a bad taste. He said prior to the attack there had been a number of other incidents that had already strained ties between the two countries to a large extent.
He said the Defence Committee of the Cabinet decided to define new terms of engagements and it was decided to cut off NATO supply lines, get the Shamsi airbase vacated and boycott the Bonn Conference.
The prime minister said that there was “a trust deficit” between Islamabad and Washington as he criticised the resumption of US drone strikes in the tribal areas.
Pakistan is against the “illegal and counter productive” drone strikes along the areas bordering Afghanistan and had conveyed its concerns to the United States in this regard and wished to settle all issues, as a responsible country, and discuss everything diplomatically, he said.
He said parliament would be defining new terms of engagement and hoped the new terms would be more productive and lasting.
When asked about the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, he said, “It was the failure of the intelligence agencies of the whole world.”
Gilani termed Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh a “genuine person” and said he too was desirous of resolving all issues with Pakistan, including the core issue of Kashmir. “We are in the process of normalising trade relations with India which will benefit the people of both the countries,” he said. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk