Charges of incompetence or complicity absurd: Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday dismissed as “absurd” allegations that the killing of Osama Bin Laden by US troops in the country showed Pakistani incompetence or complicity in hiding the Al-Qaeda leader.
In a televised address to Parliament, Gilani said it was disingenuous for anyone to accuse Pakistan, including its spy agency, of “being in cahoots” with the Al-Qaeda network.
Gilani promised an investigation, to be led by a top general. He said: “We are determined to get to the bottom of how, when and why about OBL’s presence in Abbottabad.”
But he said he had “full confidence in the high command of the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)” spy agency.
He said it was a collective intelligence failure. “The ISI cannot be singled out.”
Commenting on America’s covert action on Pakistani soil, he said: “Unilateralism runs the inherent risk of serious consequences,” and added that a small mistake by the US Seals could have spelled a disaster.
In a thinly veiled allusion to US funding for Pakistan’s role in the 1990s war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan, which ultimately gave birth to the Taleban and Al-Qaeda, Gilani said it was unfair for Pakistan to take all blame. “Pakistan is not the birthplace of Al-Qaeda. We did not invite Osama Bin Laden to Pakistan or even to Afghanistan,” he said. “Collectively, we must acknowledge facts and see our faces in the mirror of history. Pakistan alone cannot be held to account for flawed policies and blunders of others,” he added.Gilani said Pakistan Army has successfully crushed terrorism in Malakand and Waziristan. He added: “All the state institutions are on the same page. No one should nurture any misunderstanding about our defense capability.”Gilani also insisted Pakistan reserves the right to “retaliate with full force,” although he stopped short of spelling what, if anything, would be done if the US staged another unilateral high-profile anti-terror raid, said AFP.Meanwhile, Pakistan’s main opposition party called on Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari to resign over the breach of sovereignty. Majority of senators from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islami (JUI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement and FATA also made the same demand.“I think it is a big blow to Pakistan’s sovereignty, Pakistan’s independence and Pakistan’s self-respect,” former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told reporters in Lahore. “Pakistan is in a grave crisis and is surrounded by big danger.”Initiating a debate in the upper house of Parliament, Hafiz Abdul Rashid from the JUI said: “For a few thousand dollars, Zardari and Gilani sold Pakistan’s sovereignty.Sen. Zahid Khan from the Awami National Party said problems in Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan began when Gen. Zia-ul-Haq took over. “Military dictators are directly responsible for whatever is happening in Pakistan today.Sen. Mushahidullah Khan said: “The present government has no consideration of larger national interests. It must resign.”When Sen. Sabir Baluch of Pakistan Peoples Party stood up to defend the government, the house erupted in an unprecedented uproar.Meanwhile, Asma Jehangir, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, demanded a judicial probe into the operation.Potentially stirring tension further, a Pakistani TV channel and a newspaper revealed what they said was the name of the undercover CIA station chief in Islamabad.The US Embassy refused to comment, but said no one of that name worked at the mission in Pakistan.