ISI chief’s UK visit was not scheduled, says PM
By Syed Irfan Raza
Friday, 06 Aug, 2010
ISLAMABAD: A week after the cancellation of a reportedly planned visit by ISI DG Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha to London in protest against disparaging remarks made by British Prime Minister David Cameron against Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that no such visit by the head of the agency had been scheduled.
“No high-profile visit of the ISI was scheduled for the UK,” the prime minister told journalists at the Prime Minister’s House.
“Had there been any scheduled high-profile visit of the ISI, I would have been informed about it,” Mr Gilani said.
Soon after the controversial remarks made by the British prime minister, reports appeared in the media that the ISI chief had cancelled his visit to UK. It put pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari to also call off his visit to Britain. Now the president is facing severe criticism for undertaking the visit.
The prime minister’s claim that no visit by the ISI chief appears to be correct because ISPR never spoke about any such visit or cancellation. The ISPR, which promptly reacts to any information about the military, kept quiet on reports of ISI chief’s visit.
However, sources told Dawn that a team of ISI officials was scheduled to visit Britain, but Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha was not supposed to be in the delegation.
Talking about President Zardari’s visit to France and Britain, the prime minister said the issue should not be made controversial because it had been planned six months ago and “could not be avoided”.
When asked if it was wise for the president to proceed abroad when the country was experiencing the worst floods in its history which have wreaked havoc in the country, killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the prime minister said: “Mr Zardari is a personality who is always remembered. He would have been remembered and criticised even if there were no floods in the country.”
He claimed that the visit had not affected relief and rescue operations being carried out in flood-hit areas.
“I am the chief executive of the country, I am here and my whole cabinet is here to supervise the relief operation which is our responsibility and not the president’s.”
The prime minister urged all political parties and the nation to bury their differences and join hands to cope with the calamity.
“The nation has faced such situations in the past and I hope it will display the same courage and dedication to overcome the present crisis,” he said.
The prime minister was asked about the role of PML-N in relief operations and whether or not the Punjab government had demanded Rs10 billion from Centre for the rescue and relief work and threatened to stop its Sasti Roti project if it did not get the money. He ducked the question and said the government was using all its resources equally in the flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
“I have given a plane to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to visit flood-hit areas. Tents, mats and food are also being supplied to affected people in Punjab by the National Disaster Management Authority.”
He said the government had decided not to call the scheduled session of the National Assembly and asked all lawmakers to look after people in flood-affected areas.
The prime minister said he had asked NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza to discuss the issue with the Leader of Opposition.
He criticised Interior Minister Rahman Malik for blaming Taliban, Sipah-i-Sahaba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi for the assassination of MQM MPA Raza Haider which triggered the current bout of violence in Karachi.
He said that Mr Malik should wait for the report of a high-level inquiry before blaming any organisation or group.
FAKE CAMP:
The prime minister also ordered an inquiry into media reports that a fake medical camp had been set up in the flood-affected area of Mianwali on Wednesday for him to distribute cheques among patients for a photo session.
“It was my own choice to go there because people standing near the medical camp were calling me over. Despite instructions of security officials, who asked me not to go there, I went there and met patients and those attending to them.”