ISLAMABAD: To melt the ice, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on
Wednesday said the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani talked to him
before the issuance of military reaction by ISPR.
"We have
always stood by the army and we have nothing against anyone," the Prime
Minister said while talking to media here. He said democracy would
continue to function in the country and the Senate elections would be
held on time. Talking to the media in Islamabad, PM Gilani said that
he dismissed the secretary defence for disciplinary reasons. About his
interview with the Chinese newspaper, the PM said the interview was
scheduled before the visit of the COAS to China. He said he did not have
anything personal against anyone, but rules of business were violated
when COAS and ISI DG filed replies to the Supreme Court while bypassing
Defence and Law ministries. Asked if the ISPR violated the rules of
business by making a clarification to his interview in which the COAS
and the ISI DG were accused of violating the legal procedure. PM Gilani
said COAS Gen Kayani did talk to him and inform him of the desire to
issue a statement. "I said it s okay if you want to give a
clarification, I don t have any problem," said the PM. PM Gilani
said it’s not the first time that he has been elected to the parliament.
He said his family has been into politics since the Mughal era. PM
Gilani also said that he was surprised that the Supreme Court declared
him a dishonest man without hearing him.
Earlier, the PM
dismissed Secretary Defence Gen (r) Khalid Naeem Lodhi, giving
additional charge of his office has been given to the Secretary Cabinet.
The government cited certain steps of Khalid Lodhi caused
misunderstanding between institutions. Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi
has been given the extra charge of the office. Lt-Gen (r) Khalid
Naeem had written in a reply to the SC on the memo issue that the
government did not have any operational control on the Pak Army or the
ISI.
Earlier, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has taken
notice of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s interview to a Chinese
newspaper in which he said that the army chief and DG ISI gave
statements to the Supreme Court without the government’s approval.
A
statement released on the ISPR website on Wednesday said that the
allegations leveled against Chief of Army Staff General (COAS) Ashfaq
Pervez Kayani and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Ahmed Shuja Pasha were very serious and had “very serious ramifications
with potentially grievous consequences for the country”. Online
