Pages For e-paper_Layout 1 12/17/2011 2:16 AM Page 1
PTI will oppose martial law, says Imran Khan
CNG kit prices jump up by 40 percent
Polemicist who slashed all, freely, with wit
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PROFIT | PAGE 08
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pakistantoday.com.pk
Rs15.00 vol ii no 170 22 pages islamabad — peshawar edition
saturday, 17 december, 2011 Muharram-ul-Haram 21, 1433
PM and COAS stress need for unity in facing challenges g US general issues affidavit seemingly exonerating Haqqani g President Zardari tells journalist Article 47 cannot be invoked against him since he is ‘OK’ g
ISLAMABAD
A
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani talks to army chief General Ashfaq Kayani during a meeting on Friday.
US Senate votes to freeze $700m Pak aid WASHINGTON AGENCIES
The Us senate passed a $662 billion defense bill on Thursday that also freezes some Pakistan aid, imposes sanctions on Iran’s central bank, and approves the indefinite imprisonment of suspected terrorists. The Democrat-led senate voted 86-13 for the Defence Authorisation bill, which was passed Wednesday by the House. President Barack Obama was expected to sign it as early as this weekend after dropping a veto threat. The bill freezes roughly $700 million in aid to Pakistan, pending assurances that Islamabad has taken steps to thwart militants who use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against Us-led forces in Afghanistan. However, the state Department sought to downplay the Congress’ move by suggesting that the legislation does not actually cut $700 million in military aid to Pakistan. Rather, it includes a reporting requirement.
PPP MPs want heads to roll Parliamentary party demands resignations from army chief, ISI DG and SC chief justice g
ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR
With the memo controversy remaining on top of everything and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) taking it as a threat to its government, a number of participants of the parliamentary party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday stood in support of their leadership and said the army chief and the chief justice should be asked to resign, and also demanded the removal of the Interservices Intelligence (IsI) chief. A source told Pakistan Today that as the meeting at PM’s House went into session to discuss the situation, some PPP parliamentarians criticised the role of the army chief and the IsI chief by drawing a parallel between what Mansoor Ijaz had said about Husain Haqqani and
what he claimed about the IsI chief travelling to some Arab countries for support to remove President Asif Ali Zardari. They, the source said, also questioned the neutrality of the chief justice and said all the three top men – the army chief, the IsI chief and the chief justice – should quit. “Chaudhry Ghafoor and Mumtaz Gilani demanded resignation of the army chief and the chief justice besides urging the leadership to remove the IsI chief,” the source said. Meanwhile, the parliamentary party meeting of the PPP decided in principle to start a dialogue with the political forces, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz sharif, and fully expose those conspiring against the democratic government in the wake of the memo controversy. Continued on page 04
TAHIR NIAZ
s the memo issue continues to rip through Pakistan’s politics, the developments on Friday suggested that the situation, which had apparently been seen as if it would end up in a confrontation between the army and the government, has diffused with Chief of Army staff (COAs) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani meeting Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and both stressing the need for unity in facing the challenges. “The prime minister and the army chief underscored the significance of national unity to address the challenges faced by the nation,” said an official statement issued after the meeting between the army chief and the prime minister, which took place after General James Jones issued an affidavit that seemingly exonerated Husain Haqqani saying that the language used in the memo was that of Mansoor Ijaz. Taking serious note of the rumours regarding a confrontation over the memo issue, the prime minister strongly rejected the notion and reiterated that the government of Pakistan and its institutions remained committed to their constitutional roles and obligations to a democratic and prosperous future for the country. “The government’s stance regarding jurisdiction of the court on the memo issue was still to be heard by the court,” the statement said, adding that the prime minister and the army chief also agreed that replies forwarded by the COAs and the Inter-services Intelligence (IsI) chief were in response to the notice of the court, through proper channel and in accordance with the rules of business, and should not be misconstrued as a standoff between the army and the government. AFFIDAVIT: Meanwhile, former Us national security adviser James Logan Jones sent his affidavit to Asma Jahangir, Husain Haqqani’s counsel in the supreme Court, unambiguously saying that the former ambassador had noth-
ing to do with the memo. “Before May 9, 2011, I received a phone call from Mansoor Ijaz. I have known Mr Ijaz in a personal capacity since 2006. During the call, Mr Ijaz mentioned that he had a message from the ‘highest authority’ in the Pakistan government which he asked me to pass on to then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Admiral Michael Mullen,” claimed James Jones in the affidavit. The affidavit will be submitted before the supreme Court (sC) on December 19. A ninemember larger bench of the sC headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will hear the memo case. Jones said: “At no time during the call do I remember Mr Ijaz mentioning Ambassador Haqqani, and he gave me no reason to believe that he was acting at the direction of Husain Haqqani, with his participation, or that Mr Haqqani had knowledge of the call or the contents of the message.” He said further that he informed Ijaz that he would not forward an oral message of this type to Admiral Mullen and that if he wanted anything forwarded it would have to be in writing. He said he received an email on May 9 on his personal address from Ijaz attaching an unsigned memo. “The memo was not marked classified or restricted. It was my understanding that this memo was related to the ongoing investigation in Pakistan,” Jones said in his affidavit. He was of the view that the contents of the memo were similar in nature to the telephonic discussion he had with Ijaz a day or two earlier. “Mr Ijaz again stated that the memo was authorised by the ‘highest authority’ within the Pakistan government,” Jones said, adding that Ijaz asked him to deliver the memo to Admiral Mullen. “It was my assumption that the memo was written by Ijaz, since it had essentially been put into writing in the language he (Ijaz) had used in our telephone conversation earlier. Continued on page 04
news analysis & text of jones’s affidavit | page 04