ISLAMABAD – Amid increasing criticism of the judiciary for releasing US national Raymond Davis and of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for facilitating the process, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani supported the court verdict on Friday, saying that the entire leadership of the country was of the opinion that the matter should be left to the court.
The PM said it was inappropriate to hold any single institution responsible for the final outcome of the case. “In the Raymond Davis case, the country’s leadership, including the opposition, had reached a consensus that the final decision would be taken by the court. This consensus was also in line with the public sentiments at large. The court decided (the matter) in favour of the release of the detainee (Davis) which has been implemented,” said the prime minister.
Gilani reiterated his government’s policy of reconciliation and said that all measures would be taken to stabilise the restive areas of Balochistan. He said all the leaders of the parliamentary parties would be consulted to formulate a committee on the matter. “The committee will contact the alienated Baloch leadership to reconcile and will seek their suggestions to restore law and order to Balochistan,” Gilani told Food and Agriculture Minister Israrullah Zehri in a meeting.
“The PPP government is determined to reduce the sense of deprivation of our Baloch brothers. We have started implementing Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan. The required funds for development projects are also being released to bring the province at par with other federating units,” he added. The PM also discussed the next two year’s roadmap for development and governance with ministers and senior party representatives and said that despite financial constraints, the government was making concerted efforts to provide relief to the people through effective economic measures.
Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Raza Rabbani, Law Minister Babar Awan, Privatisation Minister Naveed Qamar and former minister Nazar Gondal attended the meeting.
