PM doesn’t rule out ‘foreign hands’ in Karachi violence

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told reporters at State Guest House on Sunday that the involvement of “foreign hands” in the Karachi and Balochistan violence could not be ruled out.
Flanked by Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, the prime minister, however, did not elaborate what “foreign hands” meant or which country he was referring to, nor did he say if there was any credible intelligence in this regard. Gilani said although foreign involvement in Karachi could not be ruled out, a military operation was still not a long-term solution to the situation in the embattled city.
He said the government would import electricity and gas from Iran and Central Asia to overcome the energy crisis, which could not be solved in a few days. He said that in the last three years, the government had worked tirelessly and added 3,000 megawatts to the national grid. He said that he himself took the projects to the cabinet, which approved them. “We are talking with Central Asia and Iran to import gas and electricity to overcome the power shortage in Pakistan,” he said.
ACCOUNTABLE TO PARLIAMENT: He said that the Accountability Bill would be presented in the National Assembly soon. The prime minister said Pakistan wanted cordial relations with the United States on equal grounds and would not compromise on national security. He said the US government had been told that if it was accountable to Congress, the Pakistan government was also accountable to parliament.
Gilani said relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan were getting better but some elements did not want them to improve. “Terrorism in Pakistan is an outcome of the war in Afghanistan,” the prime minister said.
To a question, Gilani said that we have to work together to eradicate the menace of terrorism. “Strategically our location is pivotal and when the al Qaeda leadership was targeted, some of its leaders entered Pakistan but our forces and intelligence worked jointly and took action,” he said. He said after the terrorists’ strongholds were eradicated, they had started attacking soft targets in the country. “They are targeting schools, hospitals, GHQ and naval base, but we will fight till the last moment,” he said, adding that Pakistan was facing the reaction to the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.