Special Report
Editorial
Op-Ed
Opinion
Columns

Politics
Literature
Music
Art & Culture
Sikh Religion
Rights
1984
Books
Education
Business

Entertainment
Lifestyle
Travel
Health
Heritage
Sports
Kids Corner

Panjab
India
Pakistan
South Asia
US of A
Canada
Asia-Pacific
UK
Europe
Middle East
Africa
World
 

Archives
Newsletter
Advertise

Obituaries

Feedback
Contact Us
About Us
Site Map

Gilani to army: Back to barracks in two weeks

ISLAMABAD: The army should return to the barracks in two weeks, Pakistan's new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Saturday, sending a strong message to the military to stay out of politics as ruling was "the right of the people".

"Ruling is the right of people which they give to their elected representatives ... I urge upon the armed forces to call back all army officers from civilian organisations within two weeks," Gilani said after getting an unopposed vote of confidence from the National Assembly, the lower house of Pakistan's parliament.
The Prime Minister was outlining his government's agenda after the vote of confidence. In his speech, Gilani also noted the various political, social and economic problems faced by the country and their possible solutions.

Gilani also called upon the pro-Taliban militants in the country's tribal areas to lay down arms and hold talks with the government.

He also vowed to restore about 60 senior judges deposed by President Pervez Musharraf, a move that could further cloud the political future of the embattled leader. "Unfortunately some people used terrorism as a way of expression (against dictatorship). But now there is a democratic government in the country and we request these people to give up terrorism," he said.

Before his speech, Gilani asked parliament for a vote of confidence as required by the constitution for a new prime minister, but with no one objecting to his appointment - including all the opposition parties - a unanimous vote of confidence was declared. "We are ready to hold talks with all those people who will lay down their arms," he said.

Underlining the transformation of Pakistan's political landscape, lawmakers on Saturday gave a unanimous vote of confidence to Gilani. In a gesture to Western nations concerned that Musharraf's decline could result in an easing of Pakistan's efforts to counter Al-Qaida and Taliban militants entrenched along the Afghan border, he said that "fighting terrorism" was his government's "top priority".

"The war against terrorism is our own war," Gilani told lawmakers, who repeatedly thumped their desks in approval as the new PM outlined his priorities.

2 April 2008
 

Bookmark with

Reddit    Yahoo     Furl    Delicious