Continuing to work with U.S. could imperil his govt: Gilani

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, in an exclusive interview with a foreign magazine his first since the raid that killed Osama bin Laden warned Wednesday that continuing to work with the United States could imperil his government, unless Washington takes drastic steps to restore trust and win over 180 million Pakistanis. Despite the clamor of criticism in Washington alleging Pakistani duplicity over the fact that the al-Qaeda leader had been hiding out in the sleepy garrison town of Abbottabad, Gilani claimed the role of aggrieved party in a deteriorating relationship. He complained repeatedly throughout the 45-minute breakfast interview about the widening "trust deficit" between the two allies. Alternating between Urdu and English, the Prime Minister said cooperation between the CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence), had broken down, and that Washington and Islamabad differed on how to fight terror and forge an exit strategy in Afghanistan. He did, however, for the first time publicly offer to support U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan, provided that Pakistan was in on the decision making. Speaking of the Abbottabad raid, Gilani said, "Naturally, we wondered why they went unilaterally. If we're fighting a war together, we have to work together. Even if there was credible and actionable information, then we should have done it jointly." Addressing his parliament on Monday, Gilani had warned the U.S. against further such strikes on its soil.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt