Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said Pakistan wanted new rules of engagement with the United States with a guarantee to respect the country’s sovereignty and assurance of “no Abbottabad-like unilateral action in future”.
The prime minister said in case any credible and actionable information was available, it must be shared with Pakistan for necessary action. He stressed that the drone attacks must be stopped, which were causing collateral damage and were grossly detrimental to the government’s efforts to isolate terrorists from local population.
The prime minister was addressing the meeting of Afghan and Pakistani parliamentary delegations held under the auspicious of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency at the PM House on Wednesday.
Gilani said Pakistan cut off NATO supplies, got Shamsi airbase vacated, and boycotted the Bonn Conference in the aftermath of the NATO attack on Pakistani Army checkpost on Nov. 26.
He said Pakistan wanted sovereign, independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan, which was in its interest. Pakistan is a part of the solution and not part of the problem, the prime minister said.
The prime minister said the assassination of Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the Afghan High Peace Council, was a severe setback to the peace and reconciliation efforts as he was a great supporter of friendship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Senator Besmellah Afghanmal, member of Meshrano Jirga and co-chairman of delegation, extended the best wishes to the Pakistani prime minister on behalf of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He recalled the statement of President Karzai that if Pakistan was attacked either by the United States or India, his country would stand by Pakistan.
