Memo a ‘pack of lies’: interior ministry

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of interior submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court on Monday, in response to the statements submitted by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and DG ISI General Ahmed Shuja Pasha in the ‘memogate’ case.

According to private news channel, the interior ministry told the apex court in the 18-page reply that the Army chief did not immediately inform the prime minister of details regarding the memo scandal.

The government also said that DG ISI General Shuja Pasha should have first informed PM Gilani of his meeting with US-based businessman Mansoor Ijaz.

The affidavit filed by Secretary Interior Khawaja Siddique Akbar raised constitutional and legal questions over the Army chief and DG ISI’s responses to the memo issue.

According to details, General Kayani informed the PM of General Pasha’s meeting with Ijaz after a delay of 20 days. Kayani met with the prime minister on November 13, while his meeting with Pasha took place on October 24.

Similarly, in reply to DG ISI Pasha’s statement, the federal government was of the view that according to the rules and regulations the ISI chief should have informed the prime minister of the issue before anyone else.

The reply also calls Ijaz’s allegations “a pack of lies.” Moreover, it goes on to say that a “piece of paper” does not pose a threat to the world’s “eighth largest army.”

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India, Pakistan resume bilateral talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian officials in Islamabad resumed the bilateral dialogue on conventional and nuclear weapons on Monday, FTNews reported.

The two-day talks mark the beginning of a new phase of discussions on confidence-building measures (CBM) between the neighbours.

According to diplomatic sources, a 10-member Indian delegation is attending the dialogue being held at the Foreign Office. The Indian delegation is headed by Y.K. Sinha and Venkatesh Verma.

Munawar Saeed Bhatti, additional secretary in Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, will be heading the Pakistani delegation for both expert groups.

India and Pakistan are scheduled to exchange lists of nuclear installations and facilities under an accord signed in 1988 by both countries.

The expert-level meeting on nuclear and conventional weapons is being held after a gap of four years. Earlier in February this year, foreign secretaries of both countries decided to resume the dialogue process that was stalled after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Meetings between the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani also took place in Maldives in November.

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Nato supply on halt since a month

KARACHI: One month has passed since the supply for Nato forces via Pakistan was suspended, FTNews reported on Monday.

On November 26, after the Nato air strikes on Pakistani posts in Mohmand, Pakistan suspended the supply to Nato in protest.

Pakistan strongly protested against America and Nato and claimed that the attack was deliberate.

Whereas in the investigation report of Nato, these attacks were declared unintentional and a result of mistakes.

As a result of the suspended supply from Pakistan, Nato forces are facing great difficulty.

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Posted in: NATIONAL