* Gilani says he turned down Gordon Brown’s request to allow Britain to interrogate suspects
* Opposition assures government of support, criticises foreign policy
By Irfan Ghauri
Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Monday that he had turned down a request that Britain be allowed to investigate those detained after the Mumbai attacks.
The prime minister’s comments came in his policy statement before the start of a debate on national security in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.
He said the British request came at a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday, but he told his British counterpart that if there was evidence against those arrested after the attacks, they would be prosecuted under Pakistani law.
He made it clear that Jamaatud Dawa’s ‘welfare activities’ would not be blocked, as “thousands of people are benefitting from them”. Gilani, however, said the government would now monitor these activities.
Gilani said that Pakistan was committed to peace in the region, but if war is thrust on the country, “we will give [a] befitting response ... the nation, the army and the political leadership is united, and we can defend our national sovereignty”. “We condemn terrorism wherever it is ... terrorists have no principles, religion, faith, boundaries or scruples,” he said.
Prime Minister Gilani thanked the opposition and treasury for being united on issues related to national security.
Gilani said he had also called several world leaders in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, and they in turn spoke with Indian leaders to tell the neighbour they “fully support Pakistan”.
The opposition criticised India for ‘trying to destabilise Pakistan’ after the attacks, and said Pakistan’s response should be ‘stern’. Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of the PML-N assured the government that the nation would support it on issues related to national security.
Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat of the PML-Q said it was because of the government’s ‘foreign policy failure’ that India was threatening Pakistan.