Blame game must end, says Gilani

Lacking substance and answers to the questions being raised on the US operation in Abbottabad, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani made a rhetoric-ridden speech at the National Assembly on Monday tracing the history of al Qaeda’s birth, with nothing to satisfy the nation except a warning against any attempt to attack the Pakistan’s strategic assets, saying that the capability of Pakistan’s armed forces should not be underestimated.
“Let no one draw any wrong conclusions… any attack against Pakistan’s strategic assets, whether overt or covert, will find a matching response… Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate with full force… no one should underestimate the resolve and capability of our nation and the armed forces to defend our sacred homeland,” he said. To pacify the belligerent opposition, the PM, however, announced an in-camera joint session of parliament on May 13 (Friday) for a detailed briefing to the parliamentarians by the military leadership, with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) bosses also being invited to answer questions of the elected representatives. He also announced that a meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet had also been summoned.
He said Abbottabad hosted a routine military training institution, which did not require any elaborate special defence arrangement. “There is no denying to the US technological ability to evade our radars… we regret that this unilateral action was undertaken without our concurrence… unilateralism runs the inherent risk of serious consequences,” he said. Before making his speech at the National Assembly, Gilani had separate meetings with President Asif Zardari and Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Khalid Shamim Wynne to discuss his policy statement on the issues of Osama bin Laden and the US operation. He chose to speak in English, not for his own people but clearly for the US and the West.
In an attempt to dispel the impression that the government and the military leadership were not on the same page, the PM said reaffirmation was necessary. He said the media “spin-masters” had tended to portray a false divide between the state institutions of Pakistan. “I would like to most emphatically reject the notion of a divide… the political leadership is supportive of the strengthening of all of Pakistan’s institutions… we follow a whole government approach… all stakeholders are consulted on all key issues, through inter-agency processes…the statements issued by the Foreign Ministry and the military on the death of Osama bin Laden were authorised by the government,” said Gilani.
He said the obvious question that had vexed everyone was how Osama bin Laden could hide in Abbottabad. “Let’s not rush to judgement… allegations of complicity or incompetence are absurd… we emphatically reject such accusations… speculative narratives in the public domain are meant to create despondency… we will not allow our detractors to succeed in offloading their own shortcomings and errors of omission and commission in a blame game that stigmatises Pakistan… this issue of the hideout needs a rational answer… recrimination and misplaced rhetoric is self-defeating,” he said in a response to a statement issued recently by the CIA chief.
He once again admitted that there had been an intelligence failure, but said: “It is not only ours but of all the intelligence agencies of the world… the al Qaeda chief along with other al Qaeda operators had managed to elude global intelligence agencies for a long time… he was constantly being tracked not only by the ISI but also by other intelligence agencies… it was the ISI that passed key leads to the CIA that enabled the US intelligence to use superior technological assets and focus on the area in which Osama bin Laden was eventually found… all this has been explained in the statements issued by the Foreign Ministry and the ISPR as well as in the detailed briefing by the Foreign Ministry.”
The prime minister said the government was determined to get to the bottom of bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. “An investigation has been ordered… our people are rightly incensed on the issue of violation of sovereignty as typified by the covert US air and ground assault on the Osama hideout in Abbottabad… this has raised questions about Pakistan’s defence capability and the security of our strategic assets,” he said, adding that an investigation in the matter had been ordered, which would be conducted by Adjutant General of the Pakistan Army Lt Gen Javed Iqbal.
He said the Abbottabad episode illustrated that the military responded to the US forces’ covert incursion. “The Air Force was ordered to scramble… ground units arrived at the scene quickly… Our response demonstrates that our armed forces reacted, as was expected of them… let me also affirm the government’s full confidence in the high command of the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Inter-Services Intelligence… indeed the ISI is a national asset and has the full support of the government… we are proud of its considerable accomplishments in the anti-terror campaign,” he said.
He said it was necessary for Pakistan to remind the international community as to who was responsible for the birth of al Qaeda and who was responsible for making the myth of Osama bin Laden. Talking about the violation of Pakistan’s airspace, he said there were legal and moral issues that related to the question of sovereignty. He said US drones were presented as an instrument to fight terrorism. “Yet, as we have repeatedly said these attacks constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and are counter-productive… on this question, which relates to operational matters, we have strong differences with the US,” he said.
Appreciating the Chinese response, the prime minister said: “We are delighted that our all-weather friend, the People’s Republic of China, has made tremendous strides in economic and technological development that are a source of inspiration and strength for the people of Pakistan.” Referring to the apprehensions being voiced about Pakistan’s relations with the US, he said: “Let me dispel any anxiety in this regard. Pakistan attaches high importance to its relations with the US. We have a strategic partnership which we believe serves our mutual interests… it is based on mutual respect and mutual trust… Pakistan and the US have strategic convergence. the dissonance that finds hype in the media is about operational and tactical matters… it is not unusual to have a different point of view on the methodology to achieve shared objectives… we have, however, agreed that whenever we find ourselves on [conflicting] paths and disagree, we should make efforts to reach common understanding by deeper and more intense exchange of views.”
Concluding his speech, the prime minister said Pakistan was confident of its bright future. “We have an ongoing multi-track process of engagement with all major powers including the United States… our engagement with states within our region is being intensified in the interest of shared stability and prosperity… counter-terrorism is a national priority… al Qaeda had declared war on Pakistan… Osama bin Laden’s elimination from the scene attests to the success of the anti-terror campaign…,” he said, summing up his policy statement.