Military leadership briefing: Qureshi urges government to make session open instead of in-camera

Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcoming the briefing of military leadership to a joint session of the parliament on May 13, has urged the government to make the session open instead of in-camera and also demanded a time frame for completion of investigation on Abbottabad incident.
Qureshi while talking to journalists after attending the 118th Extraordinary General Meeting of the Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) here on Tuesday said that the nation wanted to know that how much time the investigation ordered into Abbottabad incident would take and whether its findings would be made public. He said that those briefing the parliamentarians on Abbottabad incident should also take queries from the members and respond to the points raised by the parliamentarians.
He said he had already said that the government delayed in making a statement on this issue due to which, various ambiguities emerged and it led to disappointment in the nation and suspicions about Pakistan. He claimed that the Army Chief had also said the same that the government's media handling was poor due to dejection and disappointment emerged in nation. He said that failure had been admitted in the premier's speech; however, it was not made clear that who would be held accountable for this failure.
'It was a serious issue as there was a violation of Pakistan's airspace and the government should have called a meeting of the defence committee of the cabinet on this issue. Although government had called a meeting of the committee but did not announce its date and venue,' he added.
However, he said convening of joint session of the parliament is a right decision and claimed that this has also been proposed by the Army Chief. He said that the nation wanted to know through its elected representatives that what is the role of Pakistan in war against terrorism and how much sacrifices it has rendered in this regard. He said that there are many unanswered questions. He said that the briefing should be meaningful and there is no need to make it in-camera as international media is already commenting on this incident. He said this is an era of transparency and the government should make every move transparent.
Qureshi, however, expressed his astonishment that why the government felt a need of statement by the Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik over this issue after a speech by the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. In his opinion criticism in the speech of the interior minister on some parties and personalities will destroy the bid to create national solidarity on this incident. He also urged that the findings of the investigations should also be presented before the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and said this committee had played an important role on different national issues such as 18th amendment. Members of this committee are very important people from all political parties and they should discuss this investigation.
Regarding news about issuance of any notice by the PPP to him, he said that he was not criticising the government but raising national issues and expressing his differences at 'personal risk.' He said that he might loose his office of Deputy Secretary General and membership of Party's Central Executive Committee. He was nominated on both these seats by Benazir Bhutto herself, but he said he was ready to make any sacrifice for democracy. He said he had not received any notice yet and would respond only after receiving and reading any such correspondence. Giving reaction to another US statement that it would not apologise, he said that the nation should rise on such statements. They violated our sovereignty and international law and even then saying that they were not apologetic. He said that US should know that only a group of vested interest can bow before it and not the whole nation.