'This was to speed up process': Gilani

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday said his government followed rules and procedures in visa issuance. Addressing a press conference in Multan, he said that the letter directs the ambassador to ensure timely visas not bypass visa conditions. "This was to speed up the process." He clarified that visas were supposed to be given to those recommended by the State Department of the US, which had to explain the reason for visa issuance. "The letter absolutely does not authorise visa issuance to US special forces which took part in the Abbottabad raid," he said.
"I gave the letter to Hussain Haqqani through a proper procedure and not by hand," Gilani said. He said that if the matter must be probed, it should start from 2002. Gilani said the country wouldn't be asking these questions if the judicial commission on the Osama raid had been made public. "The Ambassador in Washington is empowered to issue visas valid up to one year without the Embassy having to refer each such aforementioned visa application to the concerned authorities in Pakistan," states the letter.
"The ambassador in Washington is empowered to issue entry visas for restricted periods to US officials who have been recommended in writing by the concerned US authorities, ie the Department of State and whose duly completed application forms, it is clearly indicated for what purposes they intend to travel to Pakistan," stated the letter, signed by the then Principal Secretary Nargis Sethi, to prime minister.
"The Pakistani embassy in US would issue these visas under intimation to the Prime Minister`s office in Islamabad," it adds. "The Special Operation Forces that participated in the Abbottabad Operation did not come into Pakistan's territory with any visas," expressed the former prime minister.
Responding to the new developments, Gilani told journalists that the letter clearly stated the Ambassador may issue visas without referring every case back to Pakistan, but not bypass the embassy's own paraphernalia. "Empowering the ambassador is empowering the entire embassy with all the due process. The ambassador was empowered on the precondition that visas should be issued only to people who have been recommended by the State Department and who's purpose of visit is clearly identified," he explained.
"There is obviously no question of authorising through this the giving of visas to US Special Operation Forces," he said. Gilani opined that the whole purpose of making an issue out of this is to take attention away from questions that require answers for the Pakistani people.
"As PM I made this statement on the floor of the house that Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan is what needs to be investigated not the visa process. It's also clear that Special Operation Forces that participated in the Abbottabad raid did not come into Pakistan's territory with any visas.
"The letter was routed through relevant/concerned ministries for their input. All enquiries into any visa protocols must include visa regimes across 2002-2017. There is little point in investigating individuals; it is policies and processes that matter across the board and time. If the Abbottabad Commission Report is made public, most of these questions will be answered," he maintained. The Shamsi Airbase was allowed by the then President, General Parvez Musharraf, to be used by the US. The PPP never granted any such permission and demanded the US vacate the Shamsi Airbase," added Gilani.