Govt in bid to build broad-based consensus
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday telephoned country’s various political leaders and discussed with them the prevailing situation in the wake of Mumbai terrorism incident.
Those whom Prime Minister Gilani called included PML (Q) President Ch Shujaat Hussain, PML (N) Chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, MQM Chief Altaf Hussain, ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali, JUI (F) Chief and Chairman, Kashmir Committee of the National Assembly Maulana Fazal ur Rehman, Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Tehrik-i-Insaf Chief Imran Khan. The Prime Minister took these political leaders into confidence on the current situation.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday spoke with his counterparts from China, Yang Jiechi, UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Javier Solana. He said Pakistan had strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the government and people of Pakistan share the grief of the families of innocent victims of this incident. He said Pakistan would extend all possible assistance to India in this hour of grief. Terrorism is a menace to humanity and it must be eliminated, he added. The interlocutors of Foreign Minister appreciated Pakistan’s stance and lauded its role in the war on terror.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said the government will take all political forces, within the parliament and outside, into confidence on the situation arising after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. “All political forces within the parliament as well as outside the parliament will be taken into confidence, so that there is consensus and Pakistan gets ready for any eventuality”, Qureshi told a press conference after a special cabinet meeting held here with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza in the chair and discussed the situation arising after the tragic Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The Foreign Minister said the process of contacts with the country’s political leaders has already been initiated and the leaders of PML(N) and PML(Q) have been contacted in this respect. To a question, Qureshi said this is not time for political point scoring and said the situation requires all the politicians to rise above the petty politics and show patriotism, nationalism and unity.
To another question, the Foreign Minister said, “the situation is serious. Let us not fool ourselves, it is a serious situation” as some people in India have termed this incident as their 9/11. “We cannot be oblivious of the seriousness of the situation”, he remarked.
To a question as if the cabinet discussed the worst case scenario, the Foreign Minister said, “Obviously. We should hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
Replying to another query Qureshi said there was complete harmony between the Government of Pakistan and the country’s armed forces and the two are in contact with each other.