0
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The government has allowed the US-led coalition to use two Pakistani airports “for undertaking search and rescue operation,” Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider told Dawn on Friday.
“Yes, Jacobabad and Pasni airports have been allowed to be used by the US-led coalition...but only for search and rescue operation to help pull out their injured troops from Afghanistan,” he said.
“Our airports and other facilities have been provided for non-combat role,” the minister said, adding Pakistan was not offering permanent military bases to the coalition as were seen in the Middle East after the Iraq-Kuwait war.
Pakistan, he said, was allowing Americans to use local airports in line with its decision to provide airspace, logistics and intelligence to get hold of terrorists in Afghanistan.
“But,” he clarified, “this is a limited permission and is not aimed at allowing them to launch attacks in Afghanistan from our air or land bases,”
The US-led coalition, he said, would vacate Pakistan’s airports as soon the objectives of hunting down terrorists were achieved.
He regretted that the coalition had to launch air strikes on Afghanistan owing to Taliban’s “illogical and unrealistic stand”.
“I have been to Afghanistan three times recently and tried to convince the Taliban to hand over terrorists to the USA, but I could not achieve any thing due to their hardened attitude.
“We have shown the Taliban sufficient proof of Osama bin Laden’s involvement in terrorist attacks but they were just adamant to listen to any thing, hence attack on them which has been supported by the international community.”
He said a number of wanted Pakistani criminals and terrorists were given refuge in Afghanistan by Taliban. “And they are not being sent back to Pakistan.”
POLICE REFORMS: In reply to a question about the deweaponization campaign, Mr Haider said the government had recovered 124,000 illegal arms in four months, and become the third country in the world to have achieved so successful a recovery rate.
South Africa, he pointed out, enjoyed the best success rate as it had recovered 262,000 illegal arms followed by the United Kingdom with the recovery of 185,000 such weapons.
The recovery of illegal arms, he hoped, would be accelerated after reforms in the police department. “All the issues with bureaucracy have been sorted out and now there is no opposition to police reforms,” he said.
The Police Act of 1861 had been drastically amended, said Mr Moin, adding the police reforms would be approved by the cabinet within this month. Investigation and prosecution was being separated for which Pakistan had been offered considerable foreign support, including $150 million for judicial reform by the Asian Development Bank.
The interior ministry, he said, needed Rs15 billion for police reforms and added that initially Rs1.9 billion had been provided by the government. Some financial assistance, he said, had also come from provinces.
The minister revealed that the wages of police officers and junior staff were being increased from November or December this year.
POST-TALIBAN SETUP: Asked why Pakistan was saying that it would not tolerate any imposed solution in the post-operation scenario in Kabul, Mr Haider said that Pakistan had suffered a lot due to Afghanistan and it could not allow any hostile government to be there.
“We cannot support Northern Alliance and we are asking for a board-based government which should have representation of all factions of Afghan population.”
“There is no clash of civilizations,” he said, when asked whether there would be a long-drawn war between Muslims and Christians as many people believed.
“This is nonsense to say that Muslims and Christians would fight,” he said, adding the whole world wanted that terrorists responsible for Sept 11 attacks must be punished and brought to justice. He regretted that some “irresponsible” people were raising dangerous issues.
