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| Taliban courts not acceptable: Gilani |
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has made it clear that the Taliban in Swat would not be allowed to run their own courts.
“The parallel system of courts set up by the Taliban is not acceptable,” Gilani said while taking to the media here on Monday after the inaugural session of a conference on the medical education.
The prime minister, while expressing concern over the law and order situation in Dera Ismail Khan and Balochistan, said the government was taking solid steps to improve the law and order situation in the country. “The authorities concerned have been directed to submit a report regarding Monday’s blast in Dera Ismail Khan and a firing incident in Quetta,” he said.
Replying to a question about continuous drone attacks inside Pakistan’s territory despite a change in the US administration, Gilani explained that the new US administration of Barack Hussain Obama was in transitional period and expressed the hope that they would change their strategy as the people of the US voted for a change. “As people voted for a change here in the February elections, so did the Americans,” he added.
He said there was some consensus on policies with the previous US administration. However, he added, the previous policy of America was not working as the situation in Afghanistan was not normal.
The prime minister said he is leaving for Davos tomorrow to attend the World Economic Forum where he will have the opportunity to meet world leaders and to apprise them about Pakistan’s viewpoint on problems confronting the country, including terrorism and drone attacks.
To another question regarding investigations carried out on the Indian dossier, Gilani said the investigation into the Mumbai incident is in progress and its outcome will be shared with the nation and India.
He justified the expansion in the federal cabinet, saying the representation of all the allied parties in the cabinet was vital for political stability of the country. “Nobody in the past was criticising hiring of consultants and advisers on hefty pay so the criticism of cabinet expansion is unwarranted when ministers are not paid highly,” he argued.
To another question regarding the controversial 17th Amendment, the prime minister said it could only be repealed if a consensus bill is presented in parliament. “A two-thirds majority is required to make any constitutional amendment and this requires support of all the political forces in parliament,” he added.
Regarding the lawyers’ long march, he said the government had facilitated the previous march of lawyers. “It is the right of the lawyers’ community to hold long march and the government will provide them all facilities to organise it in an orderly manner,” he added.
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