Ministry of Defence categorically stated that the army leadership itself would decide whether or not it should carry out a military operation in North Waziristan, not under any dictate or influence.
During a in-camera briefing of Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Productions, Secretary Defence Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Athar Ali denied the allegations by US civilian and military leadership that Pakistani Intelligence Agency ISI had links with Haqqani Network and was carrying out a proxy war.
Some senior officials of ISI and Secretary Foreign Affairs Salman Bashir gave a briefing to the committee meeting which was chaired by Senator Lieutenant General (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi. The committee has been informed that the accusation levelled by US government have been taken quite seriously and friendly countries are being taken into confidence on the matter.
In its recommendations, the committee asked the government to dispatch groups comprising parliamentarians and former ambassadors to various countries to explain Pakistan's position. The committee further demanded of the US to make public all the evidences to substantiate its allegations that Pakistan was exporting terrorism against the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. The members of committee unanimously resolved that Pakistan reserved the right to response against any US aggression on Pakistan's sovereignty.
Later, the chairman committee briefed the media that Jalal-Ud-Din Haqqani was a former fighter. He had visited White House in the past on the invitation. Things have changed and now he has been declared a threat to the US. The chairman questioned the US government why a military operation would be launched against the Haqqani population in North Waziristan.
However, he said that only Pakistan Military leadership would decide whether it should carry out a military operation against militants in North Waziristan. The chairman said that the US mission in Afghanistan had failed. The ISI was being made an escape goat. He pointed out that all the accusations came on surface after Leon Panetta was appointed US Secretary Defence.
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