Pak must stop treating India as biggest enemy: Sharif

As Pakistan's powerful military held out threats to India, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called for reappraisal of ties with its neighbour to move forward and progress, saying Islamabad must stop treating New Delhi as its "biggest enemy".

Sharif, who was earlier involved in talks with India when the Kargil crisis erupted, also sought a probe into the 1999 conflict with India.

The former Prime Minister, who is the chief of main opposition PML-N party, is currently on a three-day visit to southern Sindh province where he made the remarks during an interaction with the media in Karachi yesterday.

He called on the government to also conduct an inquiry into the 2006 killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation and the carnage in Karachi on May 12, 2007 that killed over 40 people who tried to rally in support of then-deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Sharif, whose government was deposed in a military coup led by former President Pervez Musharraf in 1999, reiterated his demand for the budgets of the military and the ISI to be placed before Parliament for scrutiny in line with the practice in other democracies.

He said one of his biggest regrets was not taming the powerful military when he was Prime Minister in the 1990s.
The Parliamentary resolution calling for an independent commission to investigate the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a US raid on May 2 was the first step towards making Parliament a sovereign body, Sharif said.

"We need structural changes and this inquiry has provided an opportunity to move forward and put the country on the right track, correct its direction by putting our house in order, establish the rule of law and bring all institutions under civilian control," Sharif said.

If the government fixes responsibility for the Abbottabad incident and punishes those found guilty, a message will go out to the world that the people of Pakistan will not brook another embarrassment like the US raid, he said.
Sharif spoke out against the recent alliance forged by the ruling PPP and the PML-Q, both of which are rivals of his PML-N in Punjab and at the centre.

ISI Chief Shuja Pasha Turns Comedian

Poor Shuja Pasha he is so much under stress that his already waning mental strength has totally deserted him. Now he is like a maniac hitting out at anything and seeing ghost in his own shadow. I feel sorry for the chap who has been reduced to such level.

ISI's powerful chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha has warned India that any Abbottabad-like attack by it would invite a befitting response from Pakistan as targets inside the country "had already been identified" and "rehearsal" carried out. Pasha's warning came as he addressed the in-camera joint session of the Senate and National Assembly held behind closed doors on Friday. Pasha is facing fire over the inability of the ISI to track down al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, where he was living, before he was annihilated by US special forces in a covert operation on May 2.

In an apparent response to statements from New Delhi that India too can carry out strikes inside Pakistan, Pasha said any attack from the east would invite a befitting response, the Dawn reported.

He said that a contingency plan is in place and targets inside "India had already been identified".

Pasha told the lawmakers: "We have also carried out rehearsal for it." Earlier on May 5, Pakistan army and the government had reacted sharply warning India against any Abbottabad-like "misadventure", saying it would be responded to "very strongly" that could lead to a "terrible catastrophe".

The warning had come after a meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani which decided to reduce the level of US military personnel in Pakistan and threatened to review intelligence cooperation with it, if a repeat of "violation of sovereignty" like on May 2 occurred.

Reacting to statements by Army Chief Gen V K Singh and Air Chief Air Marshal P V Naik that India has the capacity to carry out an operation similar to US forces eliminating Osama bin Laden, first Pakistan Foreign Secretary had told a press conference that any country that attempts to "mimic" the unilateral act of the US will find it has made a "basic miscalculation".

India's Response

India is unlikely to give any credence to Pakistan's ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha's threat that any Abbottabad-like attack would invite a befitting response, calling it a "tall claim" to hide his own failure. Brushing aside Pasha's warning, government sources said the ISI chief is not an operational man and the statement was just a reflection how frustrated he was after Pakistani establishment's failure to detect the US raid on the hideout of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

"They should better concentrate on domestic problems rather than looking towards India," an official said, pointing to the scores of terrorist strikes taking place in Pakistan everyday, including killing of a Saudi diplomat in Karachi today. Officials said facing all round flak after the Abbottabad raid, the ISI chief is now trying to divert the attention of the Pakistani people by making "tall claims" like the one he has made on Friday.

"We understand their problem. In fact we sympathise with them. Our advise is, please concentrate on your domestic problems rather than looking towards us," the official said, adding that the Indian armed forces are full capable to thwart any Pakistani misadventure.