Seeking to play down Home Minister P Chidambaram's remarks that India may snap business and tourist links with Pakistan, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said he did not mind such statements as the Indian government was under 'tremendous' public pressure over the Mumbai attack.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today accused the world of "double standards" in dealing with the Mumbai attacks and terrorist incidents in Pakistan, saying there was no need for the international community to make "so much noise" about the strike in India's financial hub.
'Common friends' of India and Pakistan are playing their role to defuse tensions between the two countries as war is not in the interest of either nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday."War is not in the interest of any country and all issues should be resolved through dialogue," Gilani said."The peace-loving countries and the common friends of Pakistan and India are playing their role to defuse tensions between the two countries," he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on July 16 on the sidelines of the Non Aligned Movement summit in Egypt "in a bid to restart the stalled peace process" between the two countries.
With the Pakistani link being suspected in the deadly Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called a special meeting of his Cabinet to discuss the situation arising out of this development, particularly its impact on the Indo-Pak relations.
Pakistan on Saturday did an about turn on sending the Inter-Services Intelligence chief to India, in connection with the probe into the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying a representative of the spy agency would be sent instead of him.The decision was made at a late night meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of the powerful army. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also joined the meeting.
Pakistan, which is experiencing 'Mumbai-like attacks almost every other day', cannot guarantee that there will not be a repeat of the 26/11 strikes in India, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has told the United States."Pakistan is itself facing Mumbai-like attacks almost every other day and when we cannot protect our own citizens, how can we guarantee that there wouldn't be any more terrorist hits in India," Gilani was quoted by a source in the media as saying.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said the United States should offer Pakistan a civil nuclear cooperation deal similar to the one it finalised with India in order to maintain "balance" in the region.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that Pakistan will produce evidence of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in the tribal areas and Balochistan when there is a need to do so.
Unfazed by the demands from the estranged ally PML-N and the influential lawyers movement, Pakistan's ruling PPP has decided against re-instating deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry to his previous post and said he will have to work under the incumbent if re-appointed.
Under attack from the international community for not reining in terrorist outfits, Pakistan on Thursday said that it will not allow use of its territory for terror activities."I assure you and I assure the House that I will never ever allow my soil, Pakistani soil to be used for terror activities," Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.Terming the Mumbai incident as 'unfortunate', Gilani said, "We condemn terrorism."
Making a policy statement in parliament, Gilani said, "As a measure of our tangible display to seek peace with our neighbours, we have decided to freeze, actually reduce, the defence budget when seen in the context of inflation and the rupee-dollar parity." Without naming India, he added: "We hope to see a reciprocal gesture from our neighbour for the sake of peace and prosperity of the region."
Ruling out the handing over to India of any Pakistani national found to be involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said such persons will be tried in the country under local laws.
Pakistan is conducting its own probe into the evidence received from India on Mumbai terror attacks but no Pakistani national found to be involved in the incident will be handed over to any other country, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday."We are conducting our own investigation and once we have completed it, we will bring the findings before the people," Gilani said, adding that the evidence provided by India was being examined by investigators.
When asked about India's demand for extradition of Dawood Ibrahim, who New Delhi says is based in Pakistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani initially refused to comment saying he had 'not studied' the matter or been briefed on it. On being pressed and asked if his government would extradite Ibrahim if the Indian government made a good case, Gilani said, that he had kept an open mind, and that the onus was on India to provide 'authentic proof' in this regard.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has demanded from the US a nuclear deal similar to the one Washington has made with India, assuring that the nuclear proliferation network of its scientist A Q Khan was broken and will not be repeated.
Pakistan does not want a war with India but was "prepared" to defend itself if aggression is imposed on the country in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday. "We don't want to get involved in a war. I want to assure the House and the people that we do not want war, but if aggression is thrust on us, we will stand united as a proud nation," Gilani told the National assembly or lower house of parliament.
Top Lashkar-e-Tayiba members Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi and Zarar Shah, both linked to the Mumbai attacks, have been detained by Pakistani security agencies and the law will take its own course if they are found involved in acts of terror, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Monday blamed national and international forces for his Pakistan Peoples Party defeat in the May 11 polls while the party's losing candidates held former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf responsible for the debacle.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Tuesday asked its workers to remain calm following Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's disqualification by the Supreme Court as the party leadership decides its future course of action in consultation with its coalition partners.
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso was on Monday sworn in as Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister by President Asif Ali Zardari during a ceremony held at the presidency.
Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha's recent visit to Qatar, home to the US Central Command's regional headquarters, has sparked speculation about an 'intelligence back channel' between Pakistan and the US to reset troubled security cooperation.
The Pakistan government's top law officer told the supreme court on Monday it had no role to play in the disqualification of the Prime Minister, which could be decided only by the National Assembly speaker or the election commission.
Pakistan is expected to reopen the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply line anytime now, as the United States has agreed to tender an apology in 'soft words' over the Salala checkpost incident, reports Tahir Ali
It appears that there is some coordination between Chinese interlocutors, the Hekmatyar group, the Kabul regime and different tribal factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This indicates a long-term vision for the region, says Srikanth Kondapalli
In a huge relief to Pakistan Prime Minster Raja Pervez Ashraf, the country's apex court on Wednesday discharged the court of contempt notice served to him.
Nearly six months after Pakistan shut North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply lines to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she personally believes that the routes should be reopened. Khar made the remarks while speaking to reporters, who accompanied Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on an official visit to Britain, The Express Tribune said on Monday.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani faces the prospect of being disqualified as an member of Parliament for five years after Pakistan's supreme court ruled on Monday that he "wilfully, deliberately and persistently" defied the highest court and brought the judiciary into "ridicule".
Strategic analyst B Raman's take on the latest developments in Islamabad that have further cornered the Pakistani government.
The Pakistan government has rejected former defence secretary Lieutenant General (retired) Khalid Naeem Lodhi's claim that he was sacked on charges of misconduct without being given a hearing, saying he had been fired in the "national interest".
The same bench of the Lahore High court will hear petitions seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on charges of committing treason by allegedly defying court orders and subverting the Constitution.
Pakistan's former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said the Speaker and parliament had endorsed his stance by not disqualifying him even after his conviction by the Supreme Court and he had thus emerged as the 'ultimate winner' in the standoff between the executive and the judiciary.
There is a growing feeling within that country that these might provide a fresh start by bringing a new, and perhaps less corrupt and more responsive, government to power, says Seema Mustafa
Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday dismissed speculation of a military takeover as "misleading", saying they are being used as a "bogey" to divert the focus from "real issues".
A last minute drama on Thursday marked the selection of Pakistan's new prime minister as the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party choice Makhdoom Shahbuddin was issued a non-bailable warrant by an anti-drug court as he was filing his nomination, virtually ending his prospects.
The people of Pakistan will never permit the undermining of legislature on different pretexts, President Asif Ali Zardari has said, contending that the era of 'packing the parliament through back door' was over.
Pakistan on Wednesday named former federal minister Sherry Rehman, a close aide of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, as its new envoy to the United States following the resignation of Ambassador Husain Haqqani over the 'Memogate' controversy.
With NATO nations firming up their exit path from Afghanistan, the president of the war-torn country, Hamid Karzai, sought "constructive cooperation" from Pakistan for holding talks with the Taliban and to deny safe havens to militants on the border.
The expectations of both Pakistan and NATO have not been "fully fulfilled" at the alliance's summit in Chicago, Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has met powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for the second time in as many days, amid reports of tensions between the military and civilian government over secret communications with the Obama administration.
