Monday, October 27, 2008
"˜Army is in Fata to control tense situation, to be withdrawn when govt so desires'
By Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said military action was not a solution to all problems while the government had deployed the Army in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) only to control the tense situation there.
"The Army is undertaking operation in Fata as an emergency measure on the directive of the government and the troops will be withdrawn when the government so desires," he said while addressing a press conference here on Sunday on his return from China, where he had gone to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
The prime minister spoke on almost all the national issues such as parliament's unanimous resolution after the in-camera sessions, the ongoing power crisis, inflated bills and load-shedding that led to popular outburst in the shape of protests across the country. He also talked about his interaction with leaders of Asia and Europe, including Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, on the sidelines of the ASEM summit in Beijing.
About the statement of Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the prime minister described it as a loud and clear message that the Army would follow the directions of parliament.
Commenting on the drone attacks from across the border immediately after the passage of landmark unanimous resolution of parliament, the prime minister said ìthese attacks are weakening our efforts to curb the menace of terrorismî.
He termed the attacks on the national sovereignty and declared that it would not be tolerated and government would take all possible measures to stop them. "I had also raised the matter in the ASEM Summit and they supported our stance in this regard and expressed solidarity with Pakistan," he added.
He said the government was successfully working to de-link the militants from the tribes and the local tribesmen are taking action against these elements. "The terrorists follow no religion. They are cancer for the nation," he said.He said to deal with terrorism, the government has adopted a three-pronged strategy of development, dialogue and deterrence. "We want to adopt the use of force as a last resort," he added.
He said the government is working to strengthen the civilian law-enforcement agencies to maintain the law and order. He said ìthe international community also supported it and offered capacity-building of our civilian law-enforcement agenciesî.
Commenting on the recent press conference of the IG Frontier Corps in which he had stated that the operation in Bajaur Agency could continue for more than one year, the prime minister showed his annoyance over the press conferences, saying that such a press conference should not have been held without permission.
He termed the parliament resolution on national security unanimous and expressed his resolve to deal with the challenge of terrorism.He appreciated that all the political parties represented in parliament have unanimously adopted the resolution after a threadbare debate by parliamentarians of both the houses in the in-camera sessions.
"The resolution was prepared by a special parliamentary committee representing all parties in parliament after two days of hectic deliberations to make it a national thinking," he added. He said a monitoring committee of parliament for the implementation of the Resolution will be formed by the speaker National Assembly as ìwe consider parliament the supreme power of the peopleî. "It is the prerogative of the speaker and I do not want to dictate her," he said.
The prime minister dispelled the impression that there was no material change in governance and that all decisions were taken, as in the past, in the Presidency. "There is excellent coordination between me and the president and being a part of the PPP we both support each other and all the decision are taken after discussion," he said.
He said the PPP has always declared that parliament is supreme and all the decision would be taken in parliament. After being elected as the president, Zardari addressed parliament within two weeks while Musharraf addressed parliament only once terming the parliament "˜unruly'.
Gilani said Friends of Pakistan and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have assured support to Pakistan; however, theses efforts would take some time to materialise. He said all countries have been hit by the global financial crisis and many will need help of the IMF and other financial institutions.
He said Pakistan has also been affected but it is premature for the country to seek foreign assistance to overcome the problem. He was optimistic about assistance from the IFIs and the IMF in case of need. He reminded that the United States Congress was working on a bill to earmark substantial economic assistance for Pakistan spread over years.
He said the shortage of electricity cannot be overcome overnight. If it were a commodity which could be purchased on the spot, the government would have immediately purchased it in bulk to combat the crisis. But it is a time-consuming process and it will take some time before the disturbing problem of power shortage is solved." He asked the nation to be patient and understand the situation in the real perspective.
He said China has assured to provide assistance for setting up of power generating projects in Pakistan. About expansion in the cabinet, the prime minister said it is a political process and the government will take decisions in consultation with its allies.
He said parliamentary secretaries have been appointed giving representation to all the allied parties. He expressed the hope that expansion of the cabinet would be done after his return from visit to Turkey.
He said the process of electing chairmen of standing committees is underway and various committees have already elected their chiefs. Replying to a question regarding export of manpower to Saudi Arabia, he said that he had met with the Saudi ambassador and discussed the issue with him.
He said President Zardari will visit Saudi Arabia from the 4th of next month and will have meetings with Saudi leadership to exchange views for enhancing cooperation in economic and trade sectors.
Detailing his just concluded visit to China, he said Pakistan and China are cooperating with each other in the fields of defence, agriculture, health and culture.He said China is the time-tested friend of Pakistan and once again the leadership of China has assured him all assistance for quick recovery from the economic and energy crises.
Gilani said that during his stay in China he had useful meetings with the chancellor of Germany and prime ministers of India and Italy and exchanged views on bilateral relations and cooperation in various sectors.
He said the Indian prime minister told him that the water issue with Pakistan would be resolved according to the agreements. "Pakistan's policy is to improve ties with its neighbours and he and Dr Manmohan Singh pledged to move on the path of improved bilateral relations," he added.
He said the Italian prime minister assured him that he would raise Pakistan's concerns in G-8 meeting to address these problems. He said he apprised the delegates of all the 43 countries taking part in the Asia Europe Meeting Summit in Beijing about the unanimous resolution and Pakistan's stand on the war on terror, and they commended this resolution.
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