No threat of judicial, military coup: Gilani
ISLAMABAD, Dec 1 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said that there was no threat of either “judicial” or “military” coup as both the institutions were pro-democracy and did not want to derail the system. The Prime Minister was responding to the queries of callers from across the country in a live PTV’s programme “Prime Minister Online”. To a question about the submission of reply by the Government, Army, and ISI to the Supreme Court in Memo Case, the Prime Minister said there will be one reply from the executive authority.
The Prime Minister in response to another question said Pakistan’s decision to boycott the Bonn Conference in protest against the NATO/ISAF attack and violation of its sovereignty, was final and taken collectively.
 “How we can attend the conference when our sovereignty came under attack,” he remarked.
 The soil of Afghanistan was used against sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan, he added.
 He said the decision of staying away from the Bonn Conference was taken after thoughtful consideration and after the meeting of the Federal Cabinet which also endorsed the decisions of halting NATO supplies and vacation of Shamsi Airbase, taken by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet.
 The decision was unanimous and taken with collective wisdom and keeping in view sentiments and aspirations of the people, he said adding, “If we sit in the Bonn Conference and another attack takes place who will be responsible for that.”
 “When German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked me to attend the conference, I told her that the matter is referred to a high powered Parliamentary Committee on National Security,” he added.
 He said in his opinion, the decision to not to attend the conference was in line with national honour, self-respect and dignity.
 He denied that it was being considered to send Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to Bonn.
 Gilani said Pakistan can work with the United States, NATO and ISAF under a new agreement and by devising new rules of engagement.
 “We have to formulate new rules of engagement and we can work under a new agreement.”The Prime Minister said it is upto the Parliamentary Committee on National Security to give recommendations for a decision on ties with US and NATO.
 He said the military government of Pervez Musharraf first decided the rules of engagement with the US and NATO.
 To a question, he said the international community condemned the NATO attack on Pakistani posts.
 It is an attack on the integrity of Pakistan and it was decided in the resolutions of the joint sitting of the parliament and All Parties Conference that if US again takes a unilateral action, Pakistan will respond, he said adding and now the government responded by shutting off the supplies of NATO and getting vacated Shamsi Airbase.
 He said he will attend the meeting of the National Security Committee of Parliament on Friday and the members will be briefed on the NATO attack and other issues.
 The recommendations of the parliamentary committee will be put before joint session of the parliament.
 To a question about memo issue, the Prime Minister said he called the former ambassador Husain Haqqani to Pakistan, he submitted resignation and his matter was referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
 He recalled when for the first time the issue of memo was raised by Leader of the Opposition on floor of the National Assembly, he took the house into confidence about position of the government.
 He said the ambassador was asked by him to submit resignation so that a fair trial can be held in an issue that became a matter of national security.
 Husain Haqqani should not be condemned unheard, he remarked.
 The Prime Minister said the memo issue has been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, in which all the parties in both the houses of parliament are represented.
 The Prime Minister said Husain Haqqani did not intend to go out of Pakistan and “we are as patriotic as anybody else.”
 To a question about Russia’s reaction on the NATO attack, he said Russia is a sovereign country, which has its own bilateral relations and international commitments.
 To another question, he said the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) will brief the cabinet about situation arising out of NATO attack and Parliamentary Committee on National Security will also be briefed.
 Gilani said PPP government restored thousands of employees, who were sacked in 1996.
 “I went to jail for giving jobs to the people and now we are holding Caravan Tameer to complete development projects and the government has already spent Rs. 1.5 trillion on schemes, which will create job opportunities.”
 He said Pakistan rendered huge sacrifices in war on terror, 35,000 of its people were killed and thousands of soldiers and law enforcement personnel lost their lives which shows resolve and commitment of the country.
 Some elements are working on a foreign agenda and it has nothing to do with religion, he added.Prime Minister Gilani, while responding to a query by a caller about NATO attack, said the matter has been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, which is an appropriate forum to take up and discuss the issue.
 In response to another question, the Prime Minister said the memo issue was very sensitive matter as it pertained to national security, adding, however, credibility of Ejaz Mansoor was also questionable.
 Gilani rejected the view that a number of PPP leaders were deserting the party with some reservations, stating categorically that those PPP leaders who were committed to the party and its ideology did never leave the party in any circumstance.
 To a question if he would be the contender for the slot of Prime Minister after the next elections, in the presence of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Gilani said he was not the contender but was given this responsibility by the party, adding, the PPP Chairman should become the Prime Minister and the whole party would be behind him.
 In response to a question, the Prime Minister said despite various challenges including the global recession, floods, war on terror, energy shortages and resource constraints his government achieved various milestones and he has already directed the Minister for Information to showcase the government’s four-year achievements.
 Gilani mentioned the restoration of 1973 Constitution, Provincial Autonomy and the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award as major achievements of the government during the last over three and half years.
 Gilani said he would be remembered in the history as a Prime Minister during the tenure of whom there was no political victimization and there was no political prisoner.
 The Prime Minister during the course of programme also listened to the grievances of some callers, mostly relating to jobs, and assured them to resolve their issues on merit.The Prime Minster said the challenges of price hike and unemployment were not only confined to Pakistan but these were everywhere in the world, adding the government was not oblivious to them and working hard to address these issues. He said provision of jobs was basic part of PPP’s manifesto.
 “We are bringing a revolution through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) under which food, clothing and shelter are being provided to the poor, adding, poverty survey, health insurance, Waseela-e-Haq programmes and compulsory primary education had been started for the downtrodden section of the society under this programme.
 He said Pakistan was an agricultural country where 60 to 70 percent of people were dependent on it.
Gilani said when they formed the government, there was shortage of wheat in the country but they increased its support price from 450 to 950 per 40 kg which brought prosperity.
He said the government has now fixed wheat support price at 1050 per 40 kg for the current year which would support the agriculture community and also address the unemployment issue to a great extent.
 To a question about dialogue with the Taliban, he said Taliban should first decommission and denounce violence and then the government would be ready to talk to them to bring them into the mainstream.
 The Prime Minister said the government would continue to pursue its policy of dialogue, development and deterrence. However, “if somebody will challenge the writ of government it will not be accepted,” he added.
 He said root causes of militancy were illiteracy and poverty and the government was determined to address these issues by establishing more schools, hospitals, infrastructure and improving socio-economic condition of the people to change their mindset.
 About the economic challenges, the Prime Minister reiterated, “We do not want to depend on aid rather we want trade.”
He said the World Trade Organization was now fully supporting Pakistan, adding India and Bangladesh were also supporting Pakistan in the WTO which would boost the economy.
 “Our vision is more trade with our neighbouring countries like the Central Asian Republics, China, India, Afghanistan and Iran, adding, “if we have good relations with them it will improve our trade.”
 About electricity and gas loadshedding, the Prime Minister said, now there was no unscheduled electricity loadshedding in the country, adding, the months of December and January would be tough as more gas was being diverted to the industrial sector.
 He said the government was working on construction of big dams and Pak-Iran gas pipeline and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) projects will address the problems of loadshedding of electricity and gas.