[Dawn] Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
Saturday categorically said there was no permission given to the United States to launch any drone strike against any target inside Pakistain's territory.
"There is no such permission," Gilani told a large group of Pak expatriates. The prime minister is here on a four-day visit to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, that is being attended by over 50 world leaders.
The Prime Minister said such attacks were counterproductive because of the collateral damages caused as these were undermining government's efforts to get the unanimous support of the masses against the snuffies and terrorists.
He said drone strikes were one of the reasons of tense relations between Pakistain and the United States of America.
He said Pakistain has also conveyed to the United States that the unilateral military operation, such as the operation of May 2 to get the late Osama bin Laden,
Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead.
would not be acceptable.
Prime Minister Gilani, who also had an interactive session with the community members, said there has been a sea change in the country's foreign policy towards terrorism as a result of the vindication of his vision of three Ds, dialogue, development and deterrence. "There has been a paradigm shift in the policy between a democratic government and a dictatorial regime," he said and added that now the people of Pakistain and the Parliament were the ultimate arbitrators to take important decision of national importance.
"Unlike the policies of the past when things started rolling with a single telephone call from the United States of America, now we seek mandate of the Parliament and take decisions with consensus."
He said it was for the first time that the Army Chief and the DG (ISI) briefed the Parliament which had never happened before in the history of the country.
He mentioned the Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...operation that went ahead, after the reluctance of the Taliban leaders to honour their commitment for not indulging in any unlawful activities.
"Their defiance led me to take army operation against the hard boyz and the people wholeheartedly supported the government throughout," he added.
The Prime Minister told the Pak expatriates that the nation stood united to eliminate Death Eater and terrorist elements from the country regardless the sacrifices, adding, they had suffered over 35000 causalities.
Many of them in drone strikes.