There should be no political wing in ISI: PM

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday said there should be no political wing in the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
Talking to a group of selected journalists, Gilani said the ISI should have no role in politics, and therefore there was no point of having a political wing in the agency. To a question, he said Pakistan wanted cordial relations with all its neighbours including, Iran, India and Afghanistan. “We are having talks with India, as we want peace in the region. Foreign and interior ministers and secretaries of both countries have talked on matters of interest,” Gilani said. He said he had also met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Sharmul Sheikh, Maldives and Seoul and exchanged positive views.
Gilani said Pakistan wanted peace in the region and therefore granted MFN status to India, adding that bilateral trade ties would now improve. “Every political party including the PPP and the PML-N want to have cordial relations with India,” he added.
The prime minister said though President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to India was personal but he would talk with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on various issues, including Kashmir.
“We want such a solution for Kashmir, which is acceptable to all stakeholders.”
The prime minister also made it clear that he had talked about getting 500MW of electricity from India and not 5000MW. “There was a disinformation that we have asked for 5,000MW, as India does not have that amount as surplus.” He said the Hafiz Saeed issue was an internal matter and “if any country has any solid evidence then it should give it to Pakistan.”
Gilani said the government did not help former envoy to US Hussain Haqqani in going abroad. “The court has removed Haqqani’s name from the exit-control list (ECL) and he went abroad,” he said, adding that it was the government which had called Haqqani from the US, and had asked him to resign and put him in front of commission. “We just followed the rules and did not take any unlawful step,” he said.
The prime minister said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s likely presence in Energy Conference was a good omen and he expected to have positive talks with Shahbaz. To another question of defection in the PPP, Gilani said anyone who believed in PPP’s ideology, never left the party. He said there was a long list of positive steps taken by the government and “we have a lot of feathers in our cap”.
“Only load shedding has shunned our all good doings,” he said, adding that there would be relief for the people in the upcoming budget.