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| National security adviser sacked |
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Thursday, January 08, 2009
Mehmud Durrani accused of keeping PM in the dark on Kasab issue; confirmation of Mumbai gunman’s Pak nationality leads to fiasco
By Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: The government has finally admitted that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the November attacks in Mumbai, is a Pakistani national.
The Foreign Office spokesman, who is currently in Kabul said, “According to our preliminary investigations, Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani national. Our investigations are continuing.”
Coming on the heels of this admission, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked his National Security Adviser Major General (retd) Mehmud Ali Durrani for giving a statement on Ajmal Kasab without taking him into confidence.
Before the formal announcement, Prime Minister Gilani told Geo News on telephone that Durrani had given a statement to an Indian news channel regarding Ajmal Kasab without taking him into confidence.
The prime minister said that Durrani’s statement had tarnished the country’s image. “So I decided to sack him,” he told Geo News.
Earlier, the Foreign Office was reluctant to confirm the report with even Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir denying Kasab’s nationality in an interview to an Indian TV channel. His ministry was only willing to do so after other senior officials and ministers from other ministries came out in the open and confirmed Kasab’s nationality when asked by the foreign news agencies.
Confusion reigned supreme in Pakistan on Wednesday evening with several official voices speaking at the same time, but ensuring that they were not on the same page regarding the nationality of Ajmal Kasab. These officials proved to the world that they were strangers to ‘coordination’, and nobody knew who was in charge.
As far as Kasab’s nationality is concerned it was the Ministry of Information that had the final word in interaction with AP and Reuters where Information Minister Sherry Rehman confirmed that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national. Later, state-run television carried the version of the minister. In the end the Foreign Office was left with no choice but to agree.
What has emerged very clearly is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was very much out of the loop on Wednesday and decisions and announcements were made elsewhere with a clueless and embarrassed Foreign Office shaking its head in disbelief.
“I really do not know what is happening and this is certainly a very sad state of affairs. I myself am confused. We are trying to get through to the spokesman who is in Kabul,” one frustrated official at the Foreign Office told The News.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wanted to have the final say when the National Security Adviser, Maj Gen (retd) Mehmood Durrani, was quoted as saying that Ajmal Kasab was very much a Pakistani citizen while the Foreign Office rebutted this and sent out a one liner from Kabul saying, “investigations to determine the nationality of Ajamal Kasab are still in progress, it is still premature to say anything in this regard — and the information given to us by India is being ‘seriously’ examined.”
The Foreign Office spokesman, who is ambassador-designate to Afghanistan, is still in Kabul and in his absence the national security adviser, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Information Minister Sherry Rehman talked to the foreign media, including India. This is something Durrani and Bashir are reluctant to do where the Pakistani media is concerned. Durrani was quoted by the Indian media as saying that the identity of Kasab had been established and he was a Pakistani while Bashir was at pains to tell the Indian media that investigations were still continuing.
This led to a media circus where reports were being updated every hour, something not seen before in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose statements are taken as the Gospel truth.
Earlier, a few weeks ago, the spokesman had stated that they were still examining the letter written to them allegedly by Kasab and they would soon issue a statement regarding the decision that the government would take.
The spokesman had issued a statement early in the afternoon and referred to different reports that had appeared, and said that the information received from India is being ‘seriously’ examined.
“Pakistan remains fully determined in its investigations to uncover full facts pertaining to the Mumbai incident and is cognizant of the need for establishing legally tenable evidence.”
“Pakistan regrets the propaganda campaign unleashed by India to malign the country. Blame game and political point scoring is counterproductive and unacceptable.
“Terrorism is a pernicious problem afflicting South Asia. Pragmatic and responsible approach, including cooperation between the relevant investigation departments, is the imperative need of the hour to deal with the Mumbai terrorist attacks and to prevent any such incident in India, Pakistan or elsewhere.”
The morning papers had quoted ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha as saying, “We may be crazy in Pakistan but not completely out of our minds”. The different ministries in Pakistan should rephrase this to say, “We are all crazy in Pakistan and completely out of our minds.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would certainly agree.
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CJ says good governance being compromised
By Sohail Khan
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that good governance is being compromised as it is believed that the administration of justice is the sole duty of courts or the legal fratern more |
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Hakimullah dies of wounds in Multan?
By Mushtaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: Reports about the death of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud once again started circulating on Tuesday and this time it was being reported that the militant commander had succumb more |
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MNAs seek solution to Sindh-Punjab water rift
ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly on Tuesday urged for the resolution of the water crisis between Punjab and Sindh, failing which would lead to serious repercussions for the country.
Yousuf Tal more |
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Good governance hinges on change in national behaviour: PM
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that change in the collective behaviour of the nation is necessary for the promotion of good governance. He said that his government believed in streng more |
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NIC made mandatory to get sugar from USC outlets
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday made it mandatory to produce national identity cards to get a pack of 2kg sugar from the USC outlets.
The ECC met here unde more |
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Three provinces to hold LG polls in four months
By Hanif Khalid & Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: A high level meeting here on Tuesday at the Aiwan-e-Sadr decided that the chief ministers of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan would hold local government elections in four months.
President Asif Al more |
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Senators condemn attack on Sh Rashid
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Senators on Tuesday strongly condemned the murder attempt on Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members advised Sheikh Rashid to stop more |
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PIA obliges religiously; latest being religious minister
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), facing a mind-boggling loss of about Rs70billion, has quietly upgraded two seats of Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi and his wife fr more |
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A brigadier without brigade has a history of thrashing
By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: The basher-brigadier of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), who assaulted his professor colleague late Thursday, has a long list of such incidents on his credit as his resume is sprin more |
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PAC settles drought money misuse
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: A special committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probing misuse of drought funds worth million of rupees on Tuesday conveniently settled majority of charges against deputy auditor general o more |
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NA-55 by-polls
By our correspondent
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has urged all the political parties, including the PML-N, to withdraw from the NA-55 by-polls in favour of Sheikh Rashid.
“ more |
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Point scoring be avoided in Rashid attack case: Shahbaz
By our correspondent
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the Rawalpindi incident on Monday had grieved every Pakistani.
He said a joint investigation team comprising federal and provincial agencies including I more |
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SC moved against delay in judges’ appointment
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was moved on Tuesday against the government’s delay in the appointment of judges in the apex court and was prayed for directing the government to perform its constitutional duty by more |
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‘74 killed in Bajaur operation’
By Hasbanullah Khan
KHAR: Security forces claimed to have killed 74 militants and injured 54 others and wrested the strategically important hilltops and areas from the insurgents during the weeklong military operation in the Mamon more |
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Afghan unrest kills US, French soldiers
KABUL: A US and French soldiers were killed in attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the alliance said.
The US service member was killed in an improvised bomb blast in southern Afghanis more |
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Army called in for today’s Lakki by-election
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: The government has requisitioned the services of the Pakistan Army to augment the police and civil security forces for conducting the NWFP Assembly by-election on PF-75 Lakki Marwat for which polling more |
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Meeting discusses political issues
ISLAMABAD: A meeting held here at the presidency on Tuesday and presided over jointly by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani discussed political and development issues in the N more |
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Rashid accuses PML-N of promoting criminal culture
ISLAMABAD: Head of Awami Muslim League, Sheikh Rashid, on Tuesday criticised the PML-N-led Punjab government for promoting criminal culture in Rawalpindi and the province.
Talking to a private TV channel more |
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Briefs...
Over 64 dead in Afghan avalanches
KABUL: At least 24 bodies have been recovered and 40 other people are feared dead after avalanches swept vehicles into a ravine and trapped cars in a mountain pass overn more |
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ISSN 1563-9479 
