19th November, 2011 Pakistan Today - KARACHI

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Pages For e-paper_Layout 1 11/19/2011 2:48 AM Page 1

Pentagon chief Leon Panetta calls India, China ‘threats’

People committing suicide over domestic issues, not poverty

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pakistantoday.com.pk

Vol ii no 144 32 pages lahore edition

saturday, 19 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 22, 1432

Zardari braves

memogate

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President tells PPP core committee he had several options available other than choosing Haqqani to convey ‘memo’

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Gulf continues to widen between civil and military establishments as Haqqani’s arrival doubtful ISLAMABAD

isLaMaBaD: President asif zardari chairs a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party core committee at the Presidency on Friday. afP

rana qaisar

T

HE growing controversy over the treacherous ‘memo’, which has generated a heated debate on the issue of national security dragging President Asif Ali Zardari in the fray for allegedly having schemed to convey his fear of a military coup in Pakistan to the US administration through a senior diplomat, purportedly Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, is most likely to create a wedge between the country’s military and civil leaderships as it is being believed that this conspiratorial plan, which could not have been initiated by Mansoor Ijaz on his own, was conceived in Washington with Islamabad’s consent. Though President Zardari, in a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s core committee on Friday, dissociated himself from the ‘memo’ conspiracy and told his top aides that in case he had wanted to convey such a message, many other options were available to him instead of choosing Hussain Haqqani, the vibes coming from the General Headquarters (GHQ) suggested that business was not as usual, with Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani restlessly shuttling between Rawalpindi and Islamabad to discuss this issue with the president and the prime minister. A source confirmed to Pakistan Today that the government had been asked to summon Hussain Haqqani to Pakistan for a “briefing” to establish the authenticity of the ‘memo’ and trace its origin. However, the source, who is closely monitoring this issue, doubts that Hussain Haqqani would come to Pakistan as he would possibly prefer to send his resignation to the president instead of being questioned in Islamabad. It was learnt that the government had not yet decided to remove Ambassador Haqqani without hearing him. The president told the PPP’s core committee that Hussain Haqqani was expected to arrive in a day or two. Haqqani was instructed to fly back on Monday but he stayed in Washington citing already scheduled engagements.While the rumours of a political change in the country have throughout been in circulation ever since the present dispensation is in place, the clouds of uncertainty started thickening with the contents of this ‘memo’ - allegedly drafted by a “senior diplomat” on the instruction of no other than President Asif Ali Zardari - appearing in the media. Continued on page 04

related stories and text of memo | pages 02,03 & 04

No unconstitutional change will take place, PM assures opposition g

Gilani says ISI a national institution and govt will protect it ISLAMABAD Mian aBrar

Amid calls from opposition members to summon a joint session to debate on the controversial secret anti-Pakistan memo written to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and to try those involved in the episode under treason charges, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani assured the Lower House on Friday that the matter would be resolved amicably and no undemocratic or unconstitutional change would take place as such issues did not destabilise countries. Like the past two days, the latest revelations in the media about the memo written to Admiral Mullen by Mansoor Ijaz, allegedly on behalf of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani, dominated the National Assembly proceedings. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNAs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ayaz Amir, Khawaja Asif and Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan demanded the government summon Ambassador Haqqani to the National Assembly for a thor-

ough probe into the issue by parliament and try those found involved for treason. “This matter will not end with a resignation from some individual. Mr Zardari should disassociate himself from this issue and bring all those involved in this episode to justice. The prime minister, foreign minister and all concerned should come to the House prepared on Monday to make the situation clear on the memo and urea shortage issues,” said Nisar. The treasury benches seemed on the defensive, with no one contradicting the memo but assuring the opposition that the matter would not go uninvestigated. Prime Minister Gilani, who attended the session only after severe criticism from PML-N members, tried to sweep the matter under the rug saying the government and the opposition were on the same page over the issue. He said he had already summoned Haqqani in order to investigate the matter, so this issue should not be debated in the House until the findings of the government were shared with parliament. Taunting PML-N members, Gilani reminded them that the view-

point of the opposition vis-à-vis the armed forces was a bit different today than soon after the May 2 covert raid by the US that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. GOVT WILL PROTECT INSTITUTIONS: Responding to various points of order from opposition members, Gilani said the government had always defended the country’s armed forces and institutions in the past and it would do so still. He said the InterServices Intelligence (ISI) was a national institution and the government would protect it too. “We are resolving the issues in line with the constitution. But those talking about disintegration of the country are wrong. Many things are published in newspapers. Things are also reported against my party or against the opposition. Should we believe all of them? This issue will also be resolved just as we have resolved other issues. Every issue does not cause the country to fall apart,” he said. ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE’: Gilani said no unconstitutional change would take place in the country that could destabilise the political process. “No unconstitu-

tional change will take place before the 2013 elections. You (PML-N) will be given a chance if the people elect you,” he said. Earlier, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on a point of order, claimed Ambassador Haqqani had hosted a dinner at the Pakistani embassy in Washington where he told the participants that he knew of a US plan to bomb 362 sites in Pakistan, some of which would include “army-related people”.

tHe memo coNtroversy

HaqqaNI dIctated tHe text ISLAMABAD agencies

Mansoor ijaz

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who is in the limelight over the memo controversy, said on Friday that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani had asked him in May to appeal to the Pentagon to help the civilian government ward off a coup by Pakistan’s powerful military, and the ambassador told him former army chief General (r) Jehangir Karamat was on board with the plan. Ijaz told Reuters on Friday he wrote a memo outlining the civilian government’s fears of military

No, I dId Not!

intervention and sent it to the Pentagon on Haqqani’s instructions. “Yes, Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, whom I have known for over 10 years, was indeed the senior Pakistani diplomat who asked me to assist him in privately delivering his message to Admiral Mullen,” Ijaz said. “And I have clear evidence in my Blackberry messages that he not only did everything in his persuasive, sometimes friendly, intimidation style to keep the entire saga under wraps, he actively – in my view – attempted to and did indeed orchestrate denials from each official body that mattered. Continued on page 04

WASHINGTON agencies

hussain haqqani

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani yet again denied writing or sending any secret memo to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and termed it a conspiracy against him. In a statement given to The Cable over email on Friday, Haqqani flatly denied all of the allegations made against him by Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. “I refuse to accept Mr Ijaz’s claims and assertions. I did not write or deliver the memo he describes, nor did I authorise anyone including Mr Ijaz to do

so,” he wrote. “I was in London and stayed at the Park Lane Intercontinental on the date in May mentioned in one of the alleged conversations but I was there to meet senior British government officials, including Sir David Richards, Chief of General Staff and Mr Tobias Ellwood, then parliamentary Secretary for Defence. These officials will confirm that threat of a coup was not on my mind at the time, the state of US-Pakistan relations was,” he added. “I fail to understand why Mr Ijaz claims on the one hand to have helped the civilian government Continued on page 04


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