He said the people of Pakistan had reposed full confidence in the country's leadership despite the cases of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against them. He mentioned that the cases against Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari were not new and existed while the party was contesting elections, during the issue of President Musharraf's impeachment and when the party got the two-third majority.
"During all this time, the public reposed confidence in their leadership," he said. He said, "It will be an insult to the public conscious, if we say that the decision of the people is wrong. I do not accept it," Prime Minister Gilani said. When asked if he as a country's chief executive would decide to re-open, or not, the Swiss Court cases, the prime minister said, "We will cross the bridge when it comes" and added "let the detailed judgement come." Commenting on the government's stance on the issue of public office holders' resignations on moral grounds, the prime minister said so far these were allegations, rather than convictions.
"And if you start levelling allegations, then no one in Pakistan gets spared," he said. Gilani recalled that allegations were levelled even against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, but he took a very good stand. "He (the Chief Justice) said I will face the courts. And we also followed our great Chief Justice," he said. When asked to comment on the constitutional bar disqualifying a person on moral grounds from becoming a member of parliament, Gilani said "this is not a new [provision]. It was always there. If no one challenged it then, how can they do it now."
On National Reconciliation Ordinance, the Prime Minister termed it "unfair" to hold the President responsible for it alone, and said instead all those who had a role in its making should be made answerable. Regarding his statement that he would resign if allegations were proved against his wife for being involved in an NRO case, the Prime Minister said it was his personal opinion.
He said India was the largest democracy and there were allegations against every other parliamentarian. "If someone is removed on mere allegations, then it is very unfair," he said. On the restoration of judges, Gilani dispelled the impression that the President was not in favour of restoration and said the decision was taken at the President House within five minutes.
He said there was no outside interference over the restoration of the Chief Justice, and clarified that the delay occurred in framing the language with the help of the legal experts, to ensure that "the wording is acceptable to the whole world". He termed the army chief as his personal friend, highly professional and pro democracy, who was taken into confidence after the decision was taken on the restoration of judges.
About PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif's demands to probe the loan write-offs, the Prime Minister said no one will be spared, if we get into such nitty gritty. He fully agreed with PML(N) leader's demands for the implementation of Charter of Democracy besides abolishing Article 58-2(b) and 17th amendment. He said the committee on constitutional reforms was created to restore the 1973 constitution to its original form, adding that the government was trying to bring an amendment having the complete consensus of the entire nation.
"The nation will be proud of us," he added. The Prime Minister said the smaller provinces have no issue about the 17th amendment and the 58-2(b), but are more interested in the provincial autonomy. Regarding the high and low points of his government, Gilani said he converted the challenges into opportunities.
He said he took difficult decision by withdrawing subsidies and set the economy in the right direction. Regarding the assistance from International Monetary Fund, he said it was for the first time that the matter was discussed in the Cabinet before its approval.
The Prime Minister attributed the success of the federal and provincial governments to the reconciliatory politics of the present government. He said the consensus on the National Finance Commission was a major achievement for the people of Pakistan. He said the nation will soon hear good news about provincial autonomy.
Regarding US-Pakistan ties and new US policies regarding the region, the prime minister said the government was having regular consultations with the United States both at civil and military levels. "We have to be on the same page as they can't win a war without Pakistan and we need a stable Afghanistan. It is in the interest of Pakistan that there is a stable Afghanistan," he said.
Asked whether he supports troops surge in Afghanistan, the prime minister said "that's their own policy." About the demand that the US leave Afghanistan, he said the people do not realise the ground situation and pointed that the militants filled in the vacuum created following the end of the US interests, after the Soviet withdrawal.
He said Pakistan was strategically located and for Pakistan the first priority was its own stability, sovereignty and integrity. "We will not do anything at the cost of our sovereignty," he added. Regarding India, Gilani said unless the core issues - Kashmir and water - are resolved, the ties between the two countries cannot improve.
He said there was a need to have enhanced co-operation in intelligence sharing, resumption of dialogue. "We want bilateral relations with India, but we do not want interference of India through other countries," he added. He said he took up the issue of ongoing interference by India in Balochistan with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Sharm-el-Sheikh who agreed to discuss all core issues including, Kashmir, water and Balochistan. He said Mumbai incident should not hold hostage the entire peace process as dialogue is the only way forward.