This is not an unconditional apology: Imran

Rejecting the resumption of Nato supply line from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran on Wednesday said the government had bypassed the parliamentary resolution while taking this decision. He expressed these views while addressing a press conference; he was flanked by senior PTI leaders. He observed that the government disregarded all the recommendations made in the resolution while deciding to reopen the supply routes.
He said Parliament demanded an unconditional apology from US over Salala raid, but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton only offered 'regret' while her statement also mentions 'mutual mistakes'. "This is not an unconditional apology," he added. The resolution also demanded immediate cessation of the drone attacks, dollars 5,000 fee for per Nato container and assurance for respect of ground and airspace of Pakistan, but all those were not addressed in the new agreement with US, he said.
He pointed out that the drone attacks are continuing in defiance of Pakistan's sovereignty; in fact US President Barack Obama had categorically said the US would continue with the drone attacks. "It seems that the government has agreed to the continuation of drone strikes under the new agreement," he added. According to him, as per the resolution, in this connection any agreement would be sent to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, which would vet the agreement, consult other stakeholders and then send it to the Federal Cabinet for an approval. Unfortunately, this process was not followed. The Federal Cabinet approved the agreement without taking the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and other stakeholders into confidence.
"The resolution also demanded cessation of infiltration into Pakistan territory on any pretext. The reality is cross-border attacks on our soldiers have continued and the government has not talked about any agreed mechanism to ensure cessation of cross border infiltration," he added.
Imran said the people of Pakistan wanted to know the reason behind for this 'apparent sell-out'. He criticised the government's failure to convince US to accept any of the demands presented by the highest legislative body of the country. "If the Parliament was of no use, it should be dissolved, as it had failed to implement its resolutions. It seems that the Parliament is only there to protect corruption of President Asif Ali Zardari and its lawmakers," he added.
"The PTI has consistently opposed participation in America's 'War on Terror' for the last eight years. Its stance stands vindicated today, as the country has suffered immense losses because of participation in America's war. Pakistan has sacrificed the most in this war, nearly 40,000 of our citizens and soldiers died and the country suffered exorbitant losses worth nearly 70 billion dollars. Despite sacrificing the most it is surprising that the US continues to question Pakistan's sincerity in fighting this war and constantly pressures the country to do more," he added.
Imran Khan clarified that the PTI was not anti-US and did not want any confrontation with it. However, he said, it was a fact that the American public and decision making bodies now realised the futility of this war. "We believe that Pakistan should be ready to facilitate the US exit from Afghanistan. This means helping in the dialogue with the Taliban and in any other way that ensures a stable Afghanistan. We are clear that a stable Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest," he observed.
Imran Khan disclosed that the PTI would protest against the government decision of reopening Nato supply routes, as this decision had been made to serve vested interests of the ruling elite with complete disregard of vital national interests. "The party will hold its first protest rally against this decision today in Gujranwala, which will be followed by a protest rally in Peshawar on July 14," he added.