Retorts he is being counter-attacked as he denied favours to Oppn Leader, accuses others of receiving funds from CIA, Gulf nations
Retorts he is being counter-attacked as he denied favours to Oppn Leader, accuses others of receiving funds from CIA, Gulf nationsu00a0
A "visibly angry" ISI chief snubbed Leader of Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at an in-camera session of Pakistan's Parliament on the bin Laden raid, claiming that he was being targeted by the PML-N leader because he refused to extend a personal favour to him. Details about the joint session of the Senate and National Assembly held behind closed doors last Friday continue to emerge in the media, and a newspaper said yesterday that a "visibly angry" ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha snubbed Khan, the Leader of Opposition, during the session.
In camera: Activists of Pakistan Tehreek Insafu00a0 at a protest during the
joint Parliament session.u00a0Others scuffle with police. Pic/AFPThe incident occurred after top military officials, including Pasha, briefed the lawmakers about the May 2 US raid in the garrison city of Abbottabad that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Pasha, at the receiving end of several fiery speeches in Parliament by Khan, claimed he knew why he was being targeted by Khan. He alleged that Khan had asked him for a personal favour, which he had refused to extend. However, he said he would not reveal what the favour was on the floor of the House though he would do so if asked outside Parliament. An embarrassed Khan was reportedly taken aback as Pasha continued his "counter-attack."
He kept on grilling Khan, asking the PML-N leader if he knew about the effects of his recent tirades in Parliament. He told the House that on a recent trip to the US, he was told by CIA chief Leon Panetta, "Look, General Pasha how can we trust you when your own country's opposition leader is saying that you cannot be believed?"
Speechless Pasha said that, despite having answers to all questions during that session, he did not have an answer to the question from the CIA chief. "What should I tell the Americans?" Pasha said. The ISI chief spent most of the marathon 11-hour joint session on the back foot, criticised and questioned by lawmakers, and even said he was ready to resign if Parliament wanted him to do so, according to media reports. Some lawmakers from the opposition benches reportedly shouted, "Please accept his resignation."
After Pasha's counter-attack, it was expected that Khan would retaliate and at least refute the charges but he remained seated. The ISI chief also claimed in the joint session that the CIA was paying "many important Pakistanis to protect their interests" and that the spy agency had the details of these people. However, he did not identify anyone.
More friction The in-camera joint session also witnessed a testy exchange between the lawmaker of a religious party and the ISI chief. Parliamentarian Atta-ur-Rehman, the younger brother of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Fazlur, asked Pasha who had created the Taliban and financially supported them during the joint session last Friday, the media reported yesterday. Rehman also questioned the military's decision to conduct operations against 'mujahideen' like bin Laden and the appearance of top military officials in parliament because their "big boss", the US, was angry with them.
Pasha then requested the lawmaker not to get involved in discussions about the history of the mujahideen. He implied that parties like the JUI were receiving funding from Libya and Saudi Arabia, the reports said. "If we will discuss it, then things will go very far and everyone will come to know who has been receiving dollars from Saudi Arabia and Libya," the ISI chief reportedly said. Lawmakers thumped their desks on hearing Pasha's remarks. Rehman then staged a token walkout from the House.
Osama movies The killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces has inspired a range of action movies, including one being made by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow. Bigelow, who won an Oscar for The Hurt Locker, was working on Kill Bin Laden even as his Abbottabad mansion was stormed. The movie is about a fictitious failed assassination attempt on the Al Qaeda founder, and is the "account of a truly historic mission," a source from Annapurna studio said. Paramount Pictures, HBO and Showtime are also reportedly planning to make films on the Osama mission.
