Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani hit back on Wednesday at the ‘conspirators’ who took the memogate controversy to the Supreme Court, saying an incumbent parliamentarian was still in touch with Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who was a man of “questionable credentials”.
“I would not name him but I want to tell you that a sitting parliamentarian is still in touch with Mansoor Ijaz,” the prime minister insisted while responding to the points raised by members of the Upper House of parliament regarding the memogate scandal. The prime minister said: “If they (conspirators) have taken the issue to the Supreme Court to prove who was behind the memo, their intentions are very clear. Should we take a certificate of patriotism from someone? If so, we should rather say goodbye to politics,” he added.
Though the prime minister said he had no objection to the conspirators’ move to take the issue to the apex court, he termed it a conspiracy against the president who, he added, was part of parliament. “What do they (conspirators) want to achieve?” he asked, adding that Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani was made to resign. However, he said no one should be condemned unheard.
“I took the resignation from Haqqani in the presence of the president, army chief and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) DG,” he said, adding that Haqqani had been given a chance to clarify his position. The premier said Wali Khan, Maulana Maudodi and Nawab Akbar Bugti had also been declared traitors. “This trend should come to an end… otherwise I fear another debacle like East Pakistan,” he warned. He warned further that the country could face disintegration if the constitution was not adhered to in letter and spirit.
He said parliament should survive under all circumstances, even if the government and prime minister were sent home. Gilani asked the opponents to move a no-confidence motion against him or impeach the president if they did not like their faces. However, he challenged the opponents that they could not form a government if he resigned. He said the next government would also be a coalition government and general elections would be held on time. The prime minister said it was for the first time that the army chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman and ISI chief were made answerable to parliament. The government took bold decisions in the wake of the November 26 NATO attack, which also reflected the aspirations of the people of the country.
“Whether it is the NATO attack or the OBL operation, the government held the national interest supreme,” he said. Taking pride in the supremacy of parliament, the premier said the issue of the NATO attack and memogate was referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. “You (parliamentarians) have to take the decision… now the decisions will be taken in parliament whether it is NATO, ISAF, Kashmir issue, policy on Afghanistan and US or the nuclear programme of the country,” he said.
On rumours regarding the health of the president, Gilani said he was not admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS) for security reasons. “We, the family members rather, forced him to go to Dubai,” he added. He said the president could not go to PIMS even to enquire after the health of his ailing father because of security threats. On concerns expressed by the parliamentarians on the Balochistan situation, the prime minister said the committee constituted by the government on Balochistan would take all the parliamentarians into confidence on the issue. Terming the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) a reconciliation policy, he said there was no difference between the NRO and a plea bargain, and added that even dictators who came with the slogan of ending corruption could not eliminate the menace.