News
Thursday, November 17, 2011
No rift between Zardari and Kiyani: Firdaus* Information minister says govt will complete its tenure
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdaus Ashiq Awan, dispelling the impression that there was a rift between the government and the army, establishment said on Wednesday that complete harmony existed between both institutions.
Briefing journalists after a cabinet meeting, the information minister was replying to a question about the meeting of President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. She said that they discussed internal and external threats being faced by the country and strategies on how to cope with them and that there was no substance to the rumors about the differences between them. Replying to another question about the summoning of Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States Hussain Haqqani by Islamabad, she said that the media was depicting the situation incorrectly and that he was not going to be replaced, adding that his summons were a routine matter as ambassadors are summoned every now and then. She stated that there had been bumps in the Pak-US relationship during the last few months and that Hussain Haqqani was being called to discuss issues related to both countries and the government’s strategy in the current scenario.
Commenting on the Mansoor Ejaz’s statement, she said that the government had already denied it, as there was no truth in it. Replying to yet another question, she said that all security issues related to country sovereignty and solidarity could not be shared with the media. Replying to a question, Dr Firdaus said that PPP and its allied parties had a majority in the parliament, which gave them the democratic right to rule the country. She further said that they came into power through the ballot. Condemning the rallies being launched by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz against the government, she said that since
PML-N was ruling a province that contained 60 percent of the population of the country, it had more responsibility for putting the things on the right path.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk