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UN disarmament moot may sink over Pakistan’s reluctance
Egypt parties refusing to commit to women’s rights
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Kayani, Pasha meet PM as tensions ease with US Civilian, military leaderships discuss current situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s role there g Pakistan-US stalemate over NATO air strikes also discussed ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIN
With the United States assuring Pakistan of the key role of facilitator in peace talks between Washington and the Taliban and also expressing its willingness to give a firm guarantee that there would be no breach of its sovereignty again, the resolution of the current standoff between the two states is on the cards and they are now only days away from the normalisation of relations that came under strain after the NATO strikes on two Pakistani border posts in November last year killed 26 soldiers. The country’s civilian and military leaders, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha held a crucial meeting here at Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday, which was focused on the current situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s role in the Afghanistan reconciliation process and Pakistan-US stalemate over the NATO air strikes. Since President Asif Ali Zardari left for Myanmar on Tuesday, he was not part of the important consultations at Prime Minister’s House but Gilani is said to have held detailed talks with him on the agenda of
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Tuesday’s meeting before his departure. In a related significant development, US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter also called on Foreign Minister Khar at the Foreign Office before the meeting of the country’s senior civilian and military leaders and discussed with her matters pertaining to the Pakistan-US stalemate and restoration of NATO supplies. The leaders pondered the country’s role in the US-Taliban peace talks while expressing satisfaction that Washington was willing to accept Pakistan’s role as a facilitator in the talks. According to a brief official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Gilani asked Foreign Minister Khar to undertake a visit to Afghanistan as the meeting reviewed the ongoing reconciliation process there. “The civilian and military officials also had discussions on the possibility of reopening NATO supply routes and the meeting was told that the US authorities were willing to pay tax to Pakistan on all containers going to Afghanistan through Pakistan,” said a senior Pakistani official, who asked not to be identified by name. The meeting reviewed the blueprint of Pakistani conditions for the normalisation of ties with the US, including an apology by US and NATO over the Mohmand Agency attack, assurance of no such breaches of Pakistan’s sovereignty in future, taxation of NATO containers, clear information to be given to Islamabad about the activities of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives on Pakistani soil, and limited drone strikes in future, but that too only in accordance with Pakistani intelligence information. According to the official, the Pakistani leadership was inclined to go for normal friendly ties with the US, provided these conditions were accepted and there were also indications from Washington that it would come up with a positive response in this regard. Continued on page 04
Wednesday, 25 January, 2012 Rabi-ul-awal 1, 1433
Mansoor digs in as Feb 9 deadline set for appearance Memogate protagonist refuses to come to Pakistan, fears ‘Rehman Malik will kill him’ g Malik assures commission he won’t put Ijaz on ECL upon arrival
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ISLAMABAD
A
TAHIR NIAZ
S Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the memo controversy, refused to come to Pakistan citing serious threats to his life from Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the judicial commission investigating the scandal rejected his petition seeking to have his statement recorded abroad and hoped on Tuesday that the US national would appear before it on February 9, the next date of hearing, saying the assurances made by the attorney general and interior minister were enough to allay apprehensions vis-à-vis his security and the safety of the evidence he would be bringing with him. The commission said in its order that Commission Secretary Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan would receive Ijaz from his seat in the plane and escort him all the way to the Islamabad High Court for his appearance before the commission, or wherever he wanted to reside during his stay in Pakistan. It also directed the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Immigration Department to facilitate the commission secretary in this regard. Commission Chairman Justice Qazi Faez Isa said the “genuine concerns” of Ijaz regarding his security had been addressed and the commission would accept no further excuses from him for not
coming to Pakistan. During the course of the proceedings, Ijaz’s counsel, Akram Shaikh, insisted on the provision of security cover to his client exclusively by the army, to which the commission did not agree, saying personnel of four law enforcement agencies would provide security to him. As Shaikh told the commission that his client did not choose to come to Pakistan because of security threats, former ambassador Husain Haqqani’s counsel Zahid Bukhari pressed the commission to not afford another opportunity to Ijaz to testify, as he did not come to Pakistan despite security assurances from the quarters concerned. However, Justice Isa told him: “Why don’t you go for a
knockout in case he fails to appear before the commission next time. How will you be vindicated without a finding? Haqqani himself wanted an enquiry as stated in his resignation. You will stand penalised if you are not vindicated.” Some of the petitioners in the memo case asked the commission to make arrangements to collect evidence from Ijaz abroad, but Haqqani’s lawyer opposed the proposal, saying the US national should not be given another opportunity to testify. However, the chairman dropped a hint that the commission would have to seek the apex court’s permission if it wanted to go abroad for collection of evidence. Earlier, Shaikh told the commission that security threats to his client emanated from none other than the interior minister himself. He referred to the statements attributed to the Rehman Malik in which he allegedly said Ijaz’s name would be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) if the Parliamentary Committee on National Security so desired. Shaikh said Ijaz had no trust in Malik or anybody deployed by him to his security detail. “The gadgets that my client wants to bring with him might be stolen”, he added. The chairman then asked the attorney general if the interior minister’s statements were not contradicting the undertaking he had submitted to the commission and its orders. “He (Malik) should let us know if he has got some judicial powers,” Continued on page 04