Opinion Khan for peace

Khan was till recently in the crosshairs of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). But they took a more benevolent view of his overture to South Waziristan to “spread awareness” about drone attacks and territorial sovereignty. He was so successful in making the TTP warm up to him that they offered to provide security for his rally when the government warned him against marching into that area with thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activists in tow. The Express Tribune reported on October 2: “A Taliban spokesperson said,‘We are ready to provide them security if they need. We endorse Imran Khan’s plea that drone strikes are against our sovereignty. The anti-drone rallies should have been taken out by religious leaders long ago but Imran has taken the lead and we will not harm him or his followers.’ During a press conference… the PTI chief claimed that the Mehsud,Burki and Bhittani tribes of Waziristan had assured him of providing security to participants of the rally. Earlier,the TTP had criticised Khan’s statement in which he had called himself a ‘liberal’. The Pakistani Taliban contended that by classifying himself as a liberal,Imran Khan had proved that he was a slave of the Western powers.” Khan has so far not got security clearance from the government. The News reported on October 5: “The interior ministry… has issued a warning letter to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and other law enforcement agencies. The letter said the TTP had prepared nine suicide bombers to attack the PTI’s rally… It said US nationals should not take part in the march.” Some foreigners will reportedly accompany him.

Another breather

THE Pakistan PM’s job has become unenviable of late with the exit of two Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) old-timers (Yousaf Raza Gilani and Makhdoom Shahbuddin) because of the “Swiss letter” case. The incumbent,Raja Pervez Ashraf,who was given the deadline of October 5 by the Supreme Court to submit a tenable draft of the letter,has got a reprieve until October 10 to finalise it. The hearing resumed yesterday and Law Minister Farooq Naek,who was authorised to write the letter,presented the draft,which was again not accepted by the bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa. Dawn’s website reported on October 5 that Naek requested the court to not make the contents of the letter public,to which Khosa replied that hiding them from the public could lead to questions of transparency. “Granting the minister’s request,Justice Khosa said the matter was nearing a resolution which was why the court would give the government more time. He further said that it took a long time for the government to reach the current point,adding that all the work done in the past could not simply be wasted.”

Islamabad and Moscow

RUSSIA’S President Vladimir Putin cancelled his much-discussed first-ever trip to Pakistan scheduled for earlier this week. Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani had planned a visit to Russia the same week,which he went ahead with. But Putin has instead sent his foreign minister with a delegation. Pakistan’s conspiracy theorists believe that India and/or the US have dissuaded Putin from furthering relations with Pakistan. However,the delegation was able to sign pacts with Pakistan in the areas of energy,railways and steel.