Lahore : Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday demanded resignation of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in the wake of United States raid thatkilled Osama Bin Laden early Monday in Abbottabad.
Addressing press conference here, he said "I demand that the President and the Prime Minister must resign. If they cannot defend the people of Pakistan, they have no right to stay in power. This was such a major incident and this impression being given of business as usual (cannot continue). Today the people are saying that the time has come that somebody should take responsibility for this incident," Qureshi stated.
About the role of the Chiefs of the Army and the ISI, he said: "If the inquiry committee holds people responsible in those ranks, then heads must roll."
Qureshi said Pakistanis were looking for leadership that could "feel and die" for the country. He contended that the US had crossed a "red line" by carrying out a military operation to kill bin Laden without Pakistan's permission. "Pakistan is a partner of the US in the war on terror but is this an answer to our commitment and sacrifices," he questioned.
"Zardari had time to write an article for a US newspaper on the issue of bin Laden but neither he nor the Prime Minister bothered to take the nation into confidence. The Prime Minister should immediately call a meeting of the Defence Committee of Cabinet and discuss this matter which matters to the whole nation. Every Pakistani was angry and embarrassed over the bin Laden episode," he stated. PPI
