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NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar late Tuesday said that whoever calls the Haqqani network “an asset for Pakistan” did not represent the Pakistani government, a report from BBC Urdu said.
She further said that army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani did not hold such opinions in the present circumstances.
The foreign minister was addressing a discussion titled “Pakistan’s Democratic Journey” held by Asia Society, a renowned think-tank, in New York on Tuesday evening. The discussion was moderated by a political columnist of Time, a weekly magazine in the United States.
The moderator asked Khar about an interview given by General Kayani to the New York Times four years ago in which he allegedly stated that he considered the Haqqani network an “asset” for Pakistan.
In response, Khar she did not know who had said it, adding that whoever calls the Haqqani network an asset to Pakistan could not be a representative of the Pakistani government.
She further said that General Kayani no longer held that opinion.
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Comments (25) Closed
Jan 16, 2013 11:23am
"She further said that army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani did not hold such opinions in the present circumstances."
That means he considered them assets in the past ?................This is the reason Mrs. Khar the world doesn't believe in what you say........You considered them assets in the past and now when the situation is bad to worse, you are disowning them.........Wah re Hina...
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Jan 16, 2013 04:20pm
Ms Hina tries her best to present Pakistan in a good light, but I am afraid its just too late
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Jan 16, 2013 11:17am
The lady has got an impossibly unenviable job to represent the masochist and religiously berserk society of Pakistan.
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Jan 16, 2013 03:19pm
I don't believe a word she says. Pakistani govt and establishment are expert liars.
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Jan 16, 2013 05:17pm
Well, Afghan mujahideens were considered an asset at one time. Should you not apply the same rule there. Would that mean that now the US should not fight against the Taliban because they considered them an asset at one time.
It depends on what is going at the moment and what you think make sense. That is why we use our brains to analyze the situation as it develops, and not make a decision and stick to it no matter if it is proven wrong.
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Jan 16, 2013 12:40pm
rightly said .. haqqani network is uncle sam's property !!
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Jan 16, 2013 11:30am
So that means Gen K is not in sync with the government?
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Jan 16, 2013 11:35am
Pakistani government is deadly lair which reflect the nature of pakistani people. I know you will not show this comment, it does not matter but at least you writers should know.
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Jan 16, 2013 11:56am
If the army does not hold the that opinion, then why is it not rooting out this group? Action lady speak louder than words.
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Jan 16, 2013 11:51am
Watched her interview on Bloomberg TV channel and she came across as very well.
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Jan 16, 2013 12:09pm
Ms. Khar has surprised many. I for one had under-estimated her. If only she was not part of this band.
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Jan 16, 2013 04:02pm
yes just like you people considered Shiv Sinha an asset we considered Haqqani network an asset.
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Jan 16, 2013 01:09pm
I have simple solution for all India-Pakistan problem. Bring Pak Army and ISI under civilian rule. All problem will be solved within one year. Pak Army is creating India phobia to loot pakistan and its people are suffering.
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Jan 16, 2013 01:00pm
why would she defend general ? let army defend themselves as they never give a helping hand to democratic govt.
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Jan 16, 2013 01:48pm
She is indirectly pointing to Kayani and putting all blames of support to Haqqani's on army. Army will surely retaliate...
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Jan 16, 2013 01:07pm
in 60 years Pakistan did not learn how to set-up democracy. rather it did not want to set this up because of the fear of India and military always wanted to be monitoring and not trusting civilian government. it is not going to benefit Pakistan being caught in between. it has to make decision either to go for military or for democracy instead of confusing. this will lead to no where.
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Jan 16, 2013 01:08pm
Very well, she was doing her regular job of denying everything. There was not a single instance on which she gave any sold opinion.
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Jan 16, 2013 10:08pm
Or perhaps the Armed Forces need to mend their ways?!
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Jan 16, 2013 01:44pm
Pakistan & All its establishments must make an introspection and evaulation to make a last U-turn to save the naiton and its 180 million from the self destructive course of many years which is on the edge.
A break down will have severe consequences to its society and neighbouring areas.
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Jan 16, 2013 08:21pm
gary thanks very much for your concern towards pakistan..now kindly go back to your council flat and have a good night !!!
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Jan 16, 2013 02:00pm
Every time foreign minister of Pakistan acts as a spokesperson for Pakistan's army chief, she invalidates her mantra -- army is no longer a dominant player, army has fixed its thinking on Afghanistan, etc. -- that she has been programmed by the army to constantly repeat. Like any bad software package, she has a bug, too, and in her case it is the inability to avoid self-contradiction. If army is not going to interfere in Afghanistan, as she unconvincingly says, is it also going to stop interfering in the constitutional dynamics of its own country? Is it going to accept that its past seizures of democratically elected governments were in violation of Article 6 of Pakistan's constitution? And in the Bloomberg interview was a complete disaster? She was nervous and unsure of herself like any fact-less propagandist is. She kept interrupting the interviewer.
Siddique Malik, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:39pm
Can we do anymore to ridicule ourselves in front of the world? If we go by what she is saying then it seems the whole of the Pakistan govt and the Armed Forces are "not be a representative of the Pakistani government". Our politicians really need to be quiet!
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Jan 16, 2013 02:40pm
She made a complete fool of her self by pretty much contrdicting the start the Army takes.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:26pm
She is just a poker faced lier. Collectively lying to an obvious will not do us any good as a nation in the long run. We have dug our own grave.
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Jan 16, 2013 07:39pm
As long as the Haqqani Network was on the road to "destroying" India, the Pakistan Army and General APK were not only considering the said network as assets but were also whole-heartedly and materially helping it. However, when this same network turned its destructive activities on Pakistan it turned out to be a whole different ball game. It is all politics. A successful politician is one who claims the sun is shining when it is the dark of the night and people believe him/her!
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