KABUL: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani downplayed US cables released by WikiLeaks, saying they were merely the “views of junior officers”, while Afghan President Hamid Karzai doubted their credibility.
At a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday, Gilani said “not to trust WikiLeaks… These are just some of the views of junior officers of some observations,” Gilani told reporters. “We should not take them seriously.”
Speaking at the conference, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he doubted the credibility of US diplomatic cables leaked this week by WikiLeaks that portrayed him as corrupt and weak. Karzai said at least one of the incidents described in the cables could not have happened as described. Other cables were an attempt by US officials to discredit him and his government, he told reporters.
In one of the cables, US diplomats said one of Karzai’s deputies had transported $52 million out of the country in suitcases, a claim which Karzai rejected. In another cable, US envoy Karl Eikenberry portrayed Karzai as “paranoid and weak”, “unfamiliar with the basics of nation building” and “overly self-conscious” that his time of glowing reviews from the West had passed. Karzai said Eikenberry’s statement was part of a “Western media” campaign against his administration.
Karzai said the leaked cables being critical of Afghanistan and Pakistan had helped bring the two nations together, Reuters reported. “Whatever the intention was of the WikiLeaks, they helped relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, so in that sense the Wikileaks were good for us,” Karzai said. “We have seen that terrorist attacks have increased in Afghanistan,” he said. “Is it that all the (violent) activities carried out in Afghanistan are coming from Pakistan, or a broader conspiracy is working to destabilise both Pakistan and Afghanistan?”
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai renewed commitment to continue fighting terrorism together, as well as enhancing cooperation in the economic sector. The two leaders opined that there was an increasing realisation that the dream of shared prosperity could only be achieved through sustained joint efforts.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan realise that instability in one country is not in the benefit of the other and their mutual interest is in pursuing a new path leaving behind the past.”
