The Hindu : Front Page : We are not for war: Gilani

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Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008
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We are not for war: Gilani

“But ready to defend ourselves if aggression is imposed”

Islamabad: Pakistan does not want a war with India but was “prepared” to defend itself if aggression is imposed on it in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.

“We don’t want to get involved in a war. I want to assure the House and the people that we do not want war, but if aggression is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves,” he told the National Assembly. Mr. Gilani said Pakistan and India were both poor countries dealing with problems such as poverty, disease and terrorism. World leaders have focussed their efforts on defusing tensions between them.

Pakistan had made all efforts to defuse tensions as it was a “responsible nation” and a “nuclear power” that wanted to behave “gracefully.” The armed forces are “fully prepared and alert” and “understand their responsibilities,” he said.

“The people, military and political leadership are united to protect the country’s interests though no one can say we are on the defensive. We are united on the issue of protecting Pakistan’s security. We will defend Pakistan.”

Mr. Gilani renewed his government’s commitment to not allow its soil to be used by terrorists. “We should never allow our territory to be used for terrorist activity. If our territory is used, more allegations could be levelled against us. We condemn terrorism wherever it is. Terrorists have no religion, boundaries, scruples [and] principles.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that Pakistan was on “morally weak grounds” after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution for action against the Jamat-ud-Dawah and Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders.

“We had to implement certain actions according to [U.N.] resolution,” he said, referring to his government’s crackdown on the Jamat and its leaders, including the group’s founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. The Govt. had frozen Jamat’s funds and placed some of the group’s leaders in “protective custody”.Mr. Gilani again ruled out handing over any terror suspects arrested in connection with the Mumbai attacks to any foreign country. He said he turned down British Prime Minister Brown’s request for the U.K. authorities to be allowed to probe certain persons linked to Mumbai attacks. “I told him we will not allow it because this is our country and our laws will apply here. We will act [against the suspects] according to our own laws.” PTI

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