Kaira lashes out at Hamid Gul, asks ISI to take notice
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira.—AFP File Photo)
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Thursday lashed out at former chief of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) Gen (Retd) Hamid Gul, asking his ‘institution’ to take notice of his activities during his time as a serving general.
“If his office, his home, and his institution were used in the formation of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), then he is answerable to the nation,” said the minister.
“No one has the right to become the security adviser of the nation himself; this is the job of the state.”
Kaira’s comments come two days after the former ISI chief , in an interview with DawnNews, admitted responsibility for creating the IJI to allegedly prevent former prime minister Benazir Bhutto from coming into power through the 1990 polls.
The minister said the IJI was formed to steal the mandate of the people through ulterior motives by preventing the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from winning the elections.
During the interview, the former ISI chief had also alleged that Pakistani politicians were crooks and that if they continued to tread the path they were on, the army would also continue to intervene in the state’s affairs.
Kaira said Gul had created problems for the nation in the past and should refrain from issuing such irresponsible statements, advising him to be careful in his choice of diction and tone.
Pakistan has had three bloodless military coups in its history and has been ruled by four military dictators, the last being former president Pervez Musharraf. The powerful army and its intelligence agency have been accused of interfering in national politics and election rigging.
In a landmark ruling on Oct 19, the Supreme Court ordered legal action against former intelligence chief Asad Durrani and former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg over allegations of bankrolling politicians to rig the 1990 election. The verdict was announced 16 years after retired air marshal Asghar Khan originally filed the case, accusing the ISI of doling out money to a group of politicians who joined together under the IJI banner to prevent the PPP from getting elected.
‘Judiciary should show restraint’
Pakistan’s courts also became the subject of criticism during Kaira’s press talk here Thursday as he accused the judiciary of interfering in political decisions and matters.
Responding to a question about Lahore High Court’s verdict on the Kalabagh dam, he said that only elected forums could make decisions on such issues.
The involvement of the judiciary in such matters should be avoided as it would not serve any purpose, said the information minister.
The judiciary should show restraint on issues of a political nature and as a nation we should also try not to drag it into political issues, he said.
On the matter of CNG prices, another case the Supreme Court is currently hearing, he said the issue was subjudice and he would not comment on it.
“On those matters which are subjudice, we should not hold debates or make comments,” said the minister.
Is Mr. Kaira joking/ Shouldn’t the PPP led government be taking action? Since his government is weak and does not have the guts he is wants the army to take action. If it were not for weak politicians the army could never have taken over. It is time that politicians take the reigns in their hands and that can only be done if their hands are clean. As regards the Judiciary taking a pro-active role, again the failure of the political parties because they cannot deal with tricky situations. No one is perfect and we should not expect miracles but let nation see some signs for betterment, that I am sure will give hope to the downtrodden. Instead of blaming others, Kaira and his ilk ought to do something other then gathering wealth, indulging in nepotism, cronyism and self praise.
Yeh raaz to koi raaz nahin
Sab ahl-e-gulistan jaan gayee
Har shakh pe ullu baithey hain
Anjam-e-gulistan kya hoga?
Those nations which are on top today, once gone through all these stages but they did learn their lessons, I hope all of us do learn our lessons and treat eachother @ national perspective than regional perspective. Its time for all of us to shun all those creepy practices of hatred that everyone holds for another. If we wont make us strong via unity then every outsider will undoubtedly meddle with our space of freedom. Wake Up people.
Please share the message of brotherhood and stop acting as black sheep for our own country and for eachother.