Pakistan to consider other options if NATO strikes again: Gilani

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Prime minister says cooperation in war on terrorism doesn’t mean compromising on country’s integrity, sovereignty

* NATO must apologise for attacks

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday told the National Assembly that the government might consider other options if someone tried to interfere with the country’s sovereignty.

Responding to a point of order raised by Lt Gen ® Abdul Qadir Baloch, the PM said, “If they (NATO) don’t apologise and remove our apprehensions, we may consider other options as well.”

He said cooperation in the war on terrorism did not mean compromising on national integrity and sovereignty. He said Pakistan is a responsible and nuclear state, adding that being political people, “we have lodged a civilised protest” with NATO headquarters over the force’s violation of the country’s air space”. Gilani added that he had also talked to Senator John Kerry on the issue and asked him to share credible and actionable information with Pakistani intelligence authorities.

Apology: He assured the nation that the government will consider every available option to stop any violation of Pakistan’s territory and if NATO did not apologise for the recent violations, other options could also be utilised.

The PM made it clear that any violation of Pakistani territory in anyway would not be acceptable and the government would not allow any power to violate security and sovereignty of the country.

Responding to the concerns raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Mahtab Abbasi regarding promulgation of an ordinance, which authorised the law minister to transfer any corruption case from any accountability court to any newly-established accountability court, the PM said he would look into the matter. He said no ordinance could be promulgated without his advice, adding that he could not endorse a ‘wrong’. However, he said that he would look into the matter and rectify if something wrong had been done in this regard.

The PM said the government wanted a consensus on the new accountability law, which delayed its presentation in parliament, adding that if the government wanted to bulldoze the process in the committee concerned, it would have done that much earlier. He further said that currently there was no political prisoner in the country. He said the government believed in across-the-board accountability and not in political victimisation, adding that there was a minor difference between victimisation and accountability.