No ‘war’ with army, says Zardari
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said his government is not “at war” with the powerful Army and the confrontation will “simmer down”, remarks that come amid tensions between the executive and the military sparked by a high-octane memo scandal.
In his first interview since the military and judiciary began pressuring the government over an alleged memo seeking US help to stave off a feared coup, Zardari rejected the possibility of a clash between various state institutions.
“These are part of evolution. You think this is a fight, I believe this is part of evolution. This fight will evolve and it will simmer down,” he said in excerpts of the interview aired by Geo news channel.
Asked about Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s statement in parliament that had criticised the military for failing to detect Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan for several years, Zardari said the premier was pointing the finger of blame at the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
“It is not fair for me to do deliberation and he (Gilani) should be asked about (the remarks). He said Osama was here for seven years, he should be accountability for that. He was talking about Pervez Musharraf. Why is that being linked to the army?” Zardari said.
The president also defended Gilani on his comments describing the army as a “state within a state”, contending that he was a “powerful” prime minister who had the right to speak out about the problems he or the government may be facing, including differences with any institution.
Panel’s decision
Zardari said the government will accept a parliamentary panel’s decision on the authenticity of the alleged memo.
Zardari said both the Supreme Court and Parliamentary Committee on National Security were looking into the issue but in his view, parliament was sovereign. “Let both decisions come. In my view, parliament is sovereign,” he said.
US seeks fair treatment to Haqqani
The US has asked Pakistan to ensure fair treatment to former diplomat Husain Haqqani in the ongoing judicial process that is probing the memo scandal, PTI reports from Washington.
“We expect that any process for resolving the matter of Ambassador Haqqani will proceed in a way that is fair, that’s transparent, that is as expeditious as possible,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Friday.
