ISLAMABAD – Opposition leader in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan on Monday linked the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis to the extension in the service granted to ISI Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
Opening the debate on the presidential address to the joint session of parliament, the PML-N leader said, “I think we need to focus who got extension (in employment) after three days of the release of Raymond Davis… the nation needs to know who played what part in his release. The government should either form a parliamentary committee or a judicial commission to probe the matter.
My party wants to take the matter to its logical end and would welcome any finding in this regard.” Nisar went on to claim that the intelligence agencies were again busy in funding specific political parties to create a new alliance, saying his party would not allow “any injection” by the agencies to these political parties. “My party would neither allow making a new Kargil nor would we allow such behind-the-scenes support. The agencies should mind their business (of securing the country’s integrity) but if the agencies want to take part in politics, they would have to join politics. Otherwise we will reveal all their secrets,” warned the PML-N leader, dropping a strong hint of some political alliance being created by the establishment.
He said his party would not allow the army to cross its limits. “We will be on guard if someone tries to do politics in the guise of secret agencies by funding the political parties. Doesn’t matter if the government keeps sleeping over the issue, we will be alert… time and again the democratic process has been intervened but no lessons have been learnt. We will have to think whether the intelligence agencies have been performing their duties,” he added. Nisar said his party would not allow anyone to become an instrument of the agencies.
He said the Public Accounts Committee had ensured accountability of the military and for the first time, its report against three former generals would be made public. He said his party had also made sure that the defence budget would have to be approved by the assembly. Nisar said the government was so meek that it had left dictators behind while following the US and the submission on the issue of Raymond Davis reflected how far the government had went to follow the orders by the super power. He said the Punjab government had fulfilled its role and repeated requests of the US administration on the issue were denied.
He said the Punjab police completed its challan within 14 days and the notion submitted by the US killer of self-defence was also shunned in its investigation. He said it was a pity that even Iran, Afghanistan and Libyan governments were defying the US dictates and “Hamid Karzai who had entered Kabul riding the US tanks is defying the US administration” while the PPP-led government was submitting itself to the US.
“How a convict, the assassin of two Pakistanis, whose name was on the exit-control list (ECL) could fly away without the support of the federal government while his passport was also lying with the Punjab government?” he argued. He also criticised the federal government’s policy of confrontation with the judiciary and the media, saying that even no military dictator had ridiculed the superior judiciary the way the government was doing so.
Criticising the PPP’s strike against an SC against NAB chairman appointment, Nisar said there was no precedence in the democratic history of the world on the way the sitting government had observed a strike against the judiciary in one specific province. He also criticised President Zardari for introducing a money bill through a reference on taxes of Rs 52 billion, adding that his party would not allow anyone to subjugate parliament’s authority. Nisar said the government would also not be allowed to gag the media and the government’s bid to launch action against a specific media group would be resisted.
“We will resist any government action against the judiciary and the media as free media is the beauty of a democratic process. We had not given this right even to General (r) Pervez Musharraf. Now since a democratic process is on, this country should be run democratically,” he said.
Nisar links Davis’ release with ISI DG’s extension
