At the time when the government and military are trying to make some changes regarding the foreign policy towards the Americans, what will this meeting between Imran and Munter achieve? Is he trying to convince the Americans that he will prove to be a better bet/asset for them in the region to further their interests in the region?
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Imran-Munter meeting raises eyebrows**
Ahmad Hassan | National |](http://www.dawn.com/category/today-national)From the Newspaper
](http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/imran-munter-meeting-raises-eyebrows.html)http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/imran-munter-meeting-raises-eyebrows.html
**ISLAMABAD: The meeting between Imran Khan, the Tehrik-i-Insaf chief, and the US ambassador on Thursday have raised a few eyebrows.
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**Imran’s detractors pounced on the opportunity to pillory him, asserting that his anti-Americanism had been exposed as empty rhetoric.
Imran Khan avoided an explicit reply to a question about the meeting, saying his stance on the war on terror and Islamabad’s collaboration with Washington was clear.
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He said his position during the meeting was similar to his public stance as he believed that Pakistan should withdraw from the “US-imposed war” in Afghanistan and that his stand had not changed after his talks with Ambassador Cameron Munter.
Speaking at a news conference held to welcome a couple of former members of Punjab Assembly and lawyers at his party’s secretariat, the PTI chairman also refused to support or oppose calls for removal of Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha following claims by American businessman Mansoor Ijaz about his visit to Gulf states.
“The matter is pending for hearing in the Supreme Court, which is competent to arbitrate and give its judgment.”Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, and PTI secretary general Zahid Hussain Kazmi were also present on the occasion.
The Awami National Party’s MNA Bushra Gohar had called on floor of the lower house on Thursday for dismissal of the ISI chief to facilitate independent investigations into the memo scandal.
The call was endorsed by Leader of Opposition in the House, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The PTI chief said PML-N’s decision to take the issue to the Supreme Court was right. He said the issue was sensitive and should be thoroughly investigated.“It is fortunate for the country that the apex court presided over by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is the most independent one and it is probing the memo issue and will definitely dig out the truth,” he said.
Imran Khan opposed any attempt to replace the present system with martial law and said successive military dictatorships had already destroyed the country.“My party is democratic and it will always support democracy and never accept imposition of martial law,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said the ‘tsunami’ of PTI which had started from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and entered Punjab would sweep into Balochistan and Sindh after the Karachi rally scheduled for Dec 25.
Commenting on President Asif Ali Zardari’s stay in Dubai for medical treatment, he said it was strange that the government had not only failed to build a hospital for its leaders but had also failed to arrange security for them.
The PTI chief said the biggest challenge before the country was that while its tax collection was among the lowest in the world, the ruling class was fighting the war on terror for the sake of money.
He said Mr Qureshi had been appointed vice-chairman after exhaustive consultations within the party and keeping in view his untainted past and vast experience.Political workers, led by former Punjab minister Col (retd) Mohammad Anwar and former MPA Pir Abbas Mohyuddin of Makhad Sharif and Justice (retd) Chaudhry Mohammad Tariq of the Lahore High Court, along with a number of lawyers from Attock, announced they had decided to join the Tehrik-i-Insaf.
