Improve ties, but don't forget Kashmir: Pak PM

FRANK TALK: Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gillani speaking to Karan Thapar in his first ever interview to CNN-IBN.

        

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Keywords: Yousuf Raza Gillani, Prime Minister

Karan Thapar: But you have an open mind?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Yes, I have an open mind.

Karan Thapar: You have no pre-conceived desires to say no?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Of course.

Karan Thapar: If there’s a good case, you would happily extradite Dawood Ibrahim?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Again, the onus is on your side.

Karan Thapar: Let me tell you what many people hearing this interview might conclude. They’ll say that Prime Minister is very reassuring; he clearly wants good relations with India. Maybe he’s not so willing to concede as Benazir was that there are militant activities and militant training camps but then, Benazir was an opposition leader –

Yousuf Raza Gillani: In Kashmir.

Karan Thapar: - in Kashmir. And Benazir was an opposition leader. You’re Prime Minister, your responsibilities are different.

But at the same time, many people will say, he has a problem, he’s under pressure from the Americans to take strong, stringent action on the western border with Afghanistan; that’s going to create tension for him and unpopularity and therefore, he may have to compensate by reducing pressure on militants and terrorists and allowing them greater access into Kashmir. Will you compensate one with the other?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Actually, we are very clear. We are fighting the war on terrorism not for America; we are fighting a war for our own country because, as I mentioned, we lost our own leader because of terrorism.

Karan Thapar: So you’re firm on terrorism?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: I’m very firm on terrorism. And we will not negotiate with militants.

Karan Thapar: You will not negotiate with militants?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: No, not until and unless they throw their arms.

Karan Thapar: This includes militants who want to carry our jihad and violence in Kashmir on the Indian side of the border?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Anywhere.

Karan Thapar: Anywhere?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Anywhere.

Karan Thapar: The reason I ask is that Dawn News on April 25 reported that several banned Kashmiri outfits have changed names and begun functioning again. The outfits they were referring to Jaish, the al Badr, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Would your government take action against these banned outfits now, changing names and functioning again?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Well, the flower called by any other name smells equally good. We are against terrorism and we are against them. We will not be supporting any terrorist.

Karan Thapar: In other words, Jaish and al Badr or the Lashkar-e-Toiba can change names as many times as they want but you will continue to ban them.

Yousuf Raza Gillani: We are for that, we are against terror.

Karan Thapar: So there is no change regardless of what Dawn News may be saying?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: Yes, true.

Karan Thapar: The second issue that could be an irritant in Indo-Pakistan relations is the case of the Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh. Your government has stayed his execution, the Indian government has approached you for a pardon. What’s your response to the Government?

Yousuf Raza Gillani: I have advised the President that he should stop his execution and it should be reviewed by the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Law and Justice and Human Rights.

Karan Thapar: And that is why the execution was deferred when it was a few days ago?