Gilani won't rule out ‘foreign hand’ in Karachi carnage

Prime Minister Gilani says involvement of a ‘foreign hand’ in Karachi unrest can’t be ruled out.

Flanked by Federal Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, the PM however didn’t elaborate what foreign hand means or which country he was referring to. Neither did the PM say if there was any credible intelligence in this regard.

Addressing a news conference at State Guesthouse in Lahore where he had arrived to see the family of slain Salman Taseer whose son Shahbaz Taseer has been abducted, the prime minister came under a volley of questions ranging from security and the war on terrorism to internal affairs and accountability. The PM defended the decision of not calling Army in Karachi. He said the Army doesn t want to be involved in every situation.

The PM said he would meet the Taseer family as him and the party is very concerned. He said the federal government is willing to provide all support to the Punjab government for early recovery of Shahbaz Taseer. PM Gilani said Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif met him before the Council of Common Interest meeting in Islamabad the other day and assured of doing all the government could to trace the missing Taseer.

Asked if there would be any implications for Pakistan after the recent report that Al-Qaeda No. 2 Abd al-Rahman had been killed in Pakistan, PM Gilani said both the US and Pakistan are taking on high-valued target jointly. He said: “The ISI and CIA are working in close coordination with each other in the region. We have given them assistance in the past and continue to do so. I don’t think they would point the finger at Pakistan.”