Opinion Clearing the air

The Express Tribune quoted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on January 26: “‘I want to dispel the impression that the military leadership acted unconstitutionally or violated rules,” he said,while talking to the media before leaving for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum… However,Gilani seemed to back down from a confrontation,saying on Wednesday that his remark was made ‘under a unique situation when — there was no clarity. But since (then) there is clarity and now we have all met,and that (remark) does not pertain to these two gentlemen.’ The prime minister’s comments come a day after a high-level meeting with the army top brass to discuss a possible trilateral summit on the future of Afghanistan.”

Dawn on January 25 quoted from an interview that Gilani gave to BBC’s Nik Gowing,where he was asked if he was genuinely in charge of his country’s affairs,and whether there was any likelihood of a military adventure. Gilani’s reply made national headlines: “What you have hinted,that the army wants to bring a coup,that is not true.”

Another report on January 27 in The Express Tribune from a session at Davos stated that Gilani “rejected any perceptions of clashes between state institutions in the country and reaffirmed that all stakeholders in the country favoured democracy in the country.” An editorial in Daily Times on January 27 took a strong stance on the retraction: “Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is rather unpredictable. One minute he is breathing fire and the next minute he melts like candle wax… There is no denying that the military is the most powerful institution in the country but the way this government has dealt with it is not becoming of a democratically elected government.”

Man behind the memo

Mansoor Ijaz,the Pakistani-American businessman at the centre of the memogate scandal,has kept everyone guessing about his coming to Pakistan and testifying in court. After much speculation,Ijaz announced this week that since he wasn’t a Pakistani citizen,he cannot be summoned by a court in Pakistan.

On January 25,Daily Times had reported: “Mansoor Ijaz… did not submit his statement to Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS),which met on Tuesday to discuss the controversy. The committee directed the attorney-general to apprise it about security arrangements made for the Pakistani-American businessman… Mansoor Ijaz on Monday refused to come to Pakistan to testify before a judicial commission probing the memo controversy because of ‘security threats’.” In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor,Mansoor Ijaz was asked ‘whether Pakistan’s traditionally pro-military judiciary should be doing more to probe his allegations that ISI chief General Shuja Pasha met with Arab leaders to discuss the possibility of a coup’. Ijaz responded,‘You’re damn right they ought to ask that question. If the Supreme Court is not willing to,you can be sure

[I will’.”