Imran Khan: Army's days are over in Pakistan

Davos: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is drawing massive crowds in his country, has declared that "army's days are over" in Pakistan and vowed to have "best relations" with India.

"Let me assure you that democracy is set to take off in Pakistan. You just wait till the elections. The time has come for a true democracy in Pakistan," Khan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit being held in Davos.

"The army's days are over. You will soon see a true democracy in Pakistan," Khan, who also attended the India reception party on Friday night, told PTI.

Khan saw nothing wrong in taking groups like the outlawed Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) along in his political journey.

Asked about his association with such extremist group, which has acted as a front of the LeT that carried out the Mumbai attacks, Khan drew attention to the US support to Taliban during the era of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

"Is taking along different groups of people with an aim to bring them to the mainstream wrong? What you should understand is that you have to talk to various kinds of people in politics. If I try to bring them (extremists) back to the mainstream, there is nothing wrong in it," he said.

Continuing with his argument, Khan, who has been generating a lot of crowd at his political rallies in Pakistan, said, "And if you talk about support to the extremists, did America not support the Taliban?"

"The politics requires you to talk to various groups of people and there is certainly nothing wrong if I want to bring them back to the main fold and change their mindset. For that, I would have to talk to them. I can assure you best of the relations with India and these things would never come in the way," he added.

Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party chief, said: "The people of Pakistan are waiting for the change. They want a democracy of their choice".

"The democracy is bound to come there. There are lots of expectations among the people of Pakistan. They have had it enough and now they desperately want a change that would allow their voice to be heard".

Signing off, he said, "We will have a true democracy and there should be no doubts about that".

Source: IBN live Read more

‘Trust deficit’ Gilani bemoans with US

DAVOS: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday there was “a trust deficit” between Islamabad and Washington as he criticised the resumption of US drone strikes on his country’s tribal belt.

Speaking the day after over 100,000 people massed in Karachi to protest the strikes, Yousuf Raza Gilani said they only served to bolster militants.

“Drones are counter-productive. We have very ably isolated militants from the local tribes. When there are drone attacks that creates sympathy for them again,” Gilani told reporters at the Davos forum.

“It makes the job of the political leadership and the military very difficult. We have never allowed the drone attacks and we have always maintained that they are unacceptable, illegal and counterproductive.”

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply over the last year, with Islamabad furious about the surprise deadly raid on al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad last year.

The two sides have also been at loggerheads over a US air strike in November in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

Gilani said that Pakistan now wanted to agree new rules of engagement with the United States.

“The unilateral action taken in Abbottabad, that was not liked in any quarter … We need assurances that such a unilateral action will not be repeated in the future. There is a trust deficit.”

The prime minister said it was in both countries’ interests to cooperate as partners and Pakistan had paid a high price at the hands of militant groups.

“We want to work together and we are fighting against militants and terrorists. We have paid a huge price for that.”

On the subject of neighbours, Gilani said Pakistan wanted good relation with all negihbouring countries including Afghanistan. He also mentioned the Kashmir issue in his talk and said that dialogue was the only possible way to resolve all outstanding issues with India.

He said that democratic institution of Pakistan should be respected.

Dismissing recent reports of a coup by the military, the PM asserted that democracy in Pakistan was not in danger and that fears of clash between state institutions were baseless.

Source: Dawn.com Read more.

Shahbaz Sharif pledges action in spurious drugs case

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has pledged to the nation that strict accountability would be carried out against those responsible for the dozens of deaths that occurred due to the counterfeit medicine given out at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives after inaugurating a polio campaign in Lahore, Sharif said that supplying free drugs to the patients did not mean that those doing so could play with lives.

Pointing his guns towards the federal government, the chief minister urged the media to also hold accountable “the thieves sitting in Islamabad”.

He blamed the rulers for the prevailing energy crisis in the country and said that coal and other resources could have been used to deal with the issue.

Sharif moreover questioned as to how could the rulers who failed to deliver in four years do something worthwhile during the next six months.

Source: Dawn.com Read more.

Bin Laden 'informer' Shikal Afridi Leon Panetta Being concern

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said he is "very concerned" about a Pakistani doctor arrested for providing intelligence for the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden last year.

Dr Shikal Afridi is accused of running a CIA-run programme in Abbottabad where Bin Laden was killed. A Pakistan panel says he should be tried for treason.

Mr Panetta told the CBS TV network the arrest had been "a real mistake".

Dr Afridi provided "very helpful" information for the raid, he added.

He was arrested shortly after the operation, carried out by US special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on 2 May last year.

Pakistan was deeply embarrassed by the raid, and condemned it as a violation of sovereignty.

Source: BBC News. Read more.

Pervez Musharraf postpones to return Pakistan, aide says

Former President Pervez Musharraf has decided to postpone his return to Pakistan, one of his aides says:

Mr Musharraf had previously vowed to end his self-imposed exile and fly back to Pakistan by the end of this month to revive his political career.

He faces arrest on arrival as he is accused of failing to provide adequate security for former PM Benazir Bhutto ahead of her assassination in 2007.

The former military ruler, who stepped down in 2008, denies wrongdoing.

On Friday Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani repeated that Mr Musharraf would be arrested if he did return.

Source: BBC News. Read more.