Islamabad: Pakistan government has said it has no knowledge of any secret deal between former President Pervez Musharraf and the Bush administration on countering terrorism, a contention rejected by main opposition PML-N which demanded "full information" on the war on terror. During the special joint session of the National Assembly and Senate, Information Minister Sherry Rehman told lawmakers yesterday that the government was not aware of any secret deal between Musharraf and the US administration.
Rehman also insisted that the PPP-led government had no written accord with the US on rules of engagement for the war on terror, sources were quoted as saying by Pakistani newspapers. There was no official word on the briefing though the local media has extensively reported on the in-camera session of Parliament.
"If the government does not know what commitments were made, who else would know?" senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said today. "There must have been some agreement and (I) don't know why this is not being shared with Parliament." Violations of Pakistan's airspace and territory by US-led forces in Afghanistan had become a "routine matter" and this could not have happened unless there was "some kind of understanding" between Musharraf and the US, he said.
Iqbal said the opposition felt it had not been given "full information" on the war on terror. He renewed PML-N's demand for the government to halt military operations and hold talks with militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt.
The PML-N also demanded summoning of Musharraf to Parliament to answer questions from lawmakers.
