Muhammad Ejaz KhanTuesday, June 07, 2011
QUETTA: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday reiterated his government’s resolve not to let anybody use the Pakistani soil for terrorism and said Pakistan had to identify the black sheep among its ranks supporting such elements.
While addressing a press conference here at the Quetta Airport before his departure for Islamabad after a two-day visit, the prime minister said: “We will not allow any foreign terrorists to use our soil. It is illegal as well as unethical.”
He added that Pakistan’s relations with all countries, including the United States, were good but the Abbottabad incident and subsequent killing of Ilyas Kashmiri had harmed the credibility of the country.
While addressing a press conference here at the Quetta Airport before his departure for Islamabad after a two-day visit, the prime minister said: “We will not allow any foreign terrorists to use our soil. It is illegal as well as unethical.”
He added that Pakistan’s relations with all countries, including the United States, were good but the Abbottabad incident and subsequent killing of Ilyas Kashmiri had harmed the credibility of the country.
“We have to identify the black sheep among our ranks supporting the terrorist elements,” he said.
About the drone attacks, he said: “We have made it clear to the United States that the government is under tremendous pressure from our parliament over the issue of drone attacks. Our parliament has adopted a consensus resolution against the drone attacks and concerns in this regard have been conveyed to the US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton,” he added.
He said there should be no surprises if a list of wanted people was shared with the US intelligence agencies because this was Pakistan’s war also and not some foreign battle. He said Pakistan had not signed any agreement to hand over the Gwadar Port to China, and that any decision in this regard would be taken after consultation with the provincial government.
About the missing persons, he said the matter was already in court and the judicial commission was working to resolve it. He said only some 38 persons, and no more, were missing, and several had been recovered. “Initially, it was said that some 6,000 persons were missing in the province. That figure was not correct,” he added. He said the provincial government deserved appreciation for working on the issue of missing persons.
About the law and order issue, Prime Minister Gilani said it was no more the issue of any country or region but had turned into a global concern. He said since it was a global issue, the world community would have to play its role in tackling it. “It will take time to overcome but we will resolve this problem,” the prime minister said.
He said a commission was being formed to probe the killing of Saleem Shahzad, a senior journalist, found dead a few days ago. He added that he was a firm believer in the freedom of the media and that it was the responsibility of the government to protect media persons. “Our government has abolished certain draconian laws in the country,” he added.
About the law and order situation in Balochistan, the prime minister said the state was obligated to protect the life and property of citizens, and that wholehearted efforts were underway in this regard. “If someone thinks that the government is ignorant of its responsibility, that is not true,” he said, adding that the federal and provincial governments as well as other concerned agencies were looking into the matter at every level.
About the issue of corruption in Balochistan, he said, “If someone has evidence in this regard, they must approach the court of law.”
Prime Minister Gilani reiterated that he wanted maximum development in Balochistan and anybody committing negligence on this count would not be spared. “I want maximum development in Balochistan and will personally monitor the development process here. For this purpose, I will visit Quetta every month,” Gilani added.
He said in view of the past highhandedness meted out to the province, “we will not leave any stone unturned in providing funds and resources to the province”. He reiterated his government’s resolve to hold talks with the ‘angry’ people in the province. “We want to do everything possible to remove the sense of deprivation in Balochistan,” the prime minister said. He said the youth of the province were also being provided jobs in security institutions of the country and the criterion of their recruitment had been lowered.
When the attention of the premier was drawn towards the issue of target killings and recovery of decomposed bodies in the province, Prime Minister Gilani said it was the basic responsibility of the state to provide protection to the people, and the government was trying to meet this responsibility. He said he had issued directives to the ministry concerned to reduce loadshedding in the province.
About the drone attacks, he said: “We have made it clear to the United States that the government is under tremendous pressure from our parliament over the issue of drone attacks. Our parliament has adopted a consensus resolution against the drone attacks and concerns in this regard have been conveyed to the US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton,” he added.
He said there should be no surprises if a list of wanted people was shared with the US intelligence agencies because this was Pakistan’s war also and not some foreign battle. He said Pakistan had not signed any agreement to hand over the Gwadar Port to China, and that any decision in this regard would be taken after consultation with the provincial government.
About the missing persons, he said the matter was already in court and the judicial commission was working to resolve it. He said only some 38 persons, and no more, were missing, and several had been recovered. “Initially, it was said that some 6,000 persons were missing in the province. That figure was not correct,” he added. He said the provincial government deserved appreciation for working on the issue of missing persons.
About the law and order issue, Prime Minister Gilani said it was no more the issue of any country or region but had turned into a global concern. He said since it was a global issue, the world community would have to play its role in tackling it. “It will take time to overcome but we will resolve this problem,” the prime minister said.
He said a commission was being formed to probe the killing of Saleem Shahzad, a senior journalist, found dead a few days ago. He added that he was a firm believer in the freedom of the media and that it was the responsibility of the government to protect media persons. “Our government has abolished certain draconian laws in the country,” he added.
About the law and order situation in Balochistan, the prime minister said the state was obligated to protect the life and property of citizens, and that wholehearted efforts were underway in this regard. “If someone thinks that the government is ignorant of its responsibility, that is not true,” he said, adding that the federal and provincial governments as well as other concerned agencies were looking into the matter at every level.
About the issue of corruption in Balochistan, he said, “If someone has evidence in this regard, they must approach the court of law.”
Prime Minister Gilani reiterated that he wanted maximum development in Balochistan and anybody committing negligence on this count would not be spared. “I want maximum development in Balochistan and will personally monitor the development process here. For this purpose, I will visit Quetta every month,” Gilani added.
He said in view of the past highhandedness meted out to the province, “we will not leave any stone unturned in providing funds and resources to the province”. He reiterated his government’s resolve to hold talks with the ‘angry’ people in the province. “We want to do everything possible to remove the sense of deprivation in Balochistan,” the prime minister said. He said the youth of the province were also being provided jobs in security institutions of the country and the criterion of their recruitment had been lowered.
When the attention of the premier was drawn towards the issue of target killings and recovery of decomposed bodies in the province, Prime Minister Gilani said it was the basic responsibility of the state to provide protection to the people, and the government was trying to meet this responsibility. He said he had issued directives to the ministry concerned to reduce loadshedding in the province.
(source:thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=6536&Cat=13&dt=6/7/2011)
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