Pak PM to US on war on terror: Jointly, or not at all

May 13, 2011 - Shafqat Ali |

Age Corespondent

Islamabad

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has threatened to pull out of the US-led war on terror unless the US takes “drastic steps” to restore the trust of 180 million Pakistanis.

“I am not an Army dictator, I am a public figure,” Prime Minister Gilani said in an interview, adding he cannot take steps that are against the wishes of the people. Mr Gilani told Time magazine that the cooperation between the ISI and CIA “is over”.
“If America can include us in decision-making, only then can we allow drone attacks,” he said. Mr Gilani added his government could fall for supporting the US and that he could not support America “if the people of Pakistan are against it”. He wondered why the US decided to unilaterally launch the Abbottabad raid. “If we are fighting the war on terror together, then the rest of the decisions should also be made jointly,” he said. “If public opinion is against you (referring to his US allies) then I cannot resist it to stand with you. I have to go with public opinion,” Mr Gilani said.

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