Anna Hazare: Pak PM acknowledges people’s right
Expressing his views on the protests carried out by Indian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said its people's right if they demanded adoption of certain sections in a bill presented in the parliament, which is sovereign.
Asked for his reaction to the anti-corruption protests held in India, Gilani said his counterpart Manmohan Singh was a twice-elected Prime Minister and Indians were the best judge on the issue. It was people's right if they demanded adoption of certain sections in a bill presented in the parliament as the parliament was sovereign, he added.
Meanwhile, he said Pakistani intelligence agencies and the CIA are working in ‘close liaison’ with each other and that both had launched joint actions against high-level targets in the past.
He said Pakistan wants to maintain friendly relations with the US on the basis of mutual respect and interest without compromising on each other's national interests.
"We have explained to the US government that if it is answerable to Congress, then we are equally accountable to the Parliament," he said addressing a news conference in Lahore.
Responding to a question on the law and order situation in Karachi, Gilani said that the situation there was a spill-over of the Afghan war.
He said that successful operation of the law enforcement agencies in the tribal regions and Swat valley had dispersed the terrorists, who turned to soft targets like girls' schools, shopping malls, public places and intelligence headquarters in order to cause collateral damage to life and property.
The Prime Minister said the situation of Karachi was also a reaction to the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Abottabad operation on May 2.
When asked about any role for the Army in Karachi, the Prime Minister said police and paramilitary forces were his priority. The civilian law enforcement agencies are a preference for all democratic governments while the Army also do not want to be controversial by involving in the Karachi situation, he added.
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