News
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Politicians must unite to counter threats to country* PM tells Senate ‘country faces serious threats and we must not give anyone a chance to destabilise the country’
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Wednesday, exhorted political leadership from across the divide to stand united and give a collective strategy on national policy on security to face the serious challenges facing the country.
“I request you to stand united and give us a strategy on our national policy on security,” said the premier in his address to the Senate, adding, “We shall not allow our territory to be used for terrorism.”
“Our political leaders may have their differences. But, across the world, they stand united on the issue of national foreign policy,” said Gilani as he asked the senators not to give anyone a chance to destabilise the country.
“It is our (government and legislators) responsibility to unite over the issues of national importance. There would be differences in the methodology, strategy, approach, but on the issue of national interests, we are all one,” added the prime minister, saying unless the state institutions were strengthened, the country couldn’t be made stronger.
The premier emphatically said that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was not a Pakistani citizen, “we did not invite him to Pakistan”. Giving out the details of the May 2 operation when a US Navy SEALs team had a swoop on bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Gilani explained that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had informed him about some US helicopters by telephone at 2am last Monday. He said he (Gilani) had then phoned the Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir who made a telephonic contact with US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter.
“The COAS called me again and confirmed the US operation. In the meantime, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rang me and US President Barack Obama called President Zardari,” he said. Next morning a meeting was convened that decided to issue a statement from the Foreign Office, said Gilani.
The pemier told the senators that British Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke to him over telephone and acknowledged Pakistan’s contributions in the war on terror and assured him of Britain’s full cooperation. He also cited the statements issued by the NATO and European Union that recognised Pakistan’s role in the anti-terror war.
In his address, the prime minister also paid rich tributes to those 30,000 civilians and 5,000 armymen and police officials who lost their lives in the war against terrorism, saying their sacrifices would not go wasted.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk