Musharraf likely to welcome new MPs

Islamabad, Mar 16 : President Pervez Musharraf is likely to welcome the newly elected MNAs in an address to the nation within the next few days.

Sources said that this would be the first time that Musharraf would greet the newly elected MNAs of the PPP and the PML-N - both of whom have opposed his policies for the past eight years.

The PML-N and the PPP have both said that their priority is reducing the sweeping powers accumulated by Musharraf since he seized power in 1999, the Daily Times quoted a news agency, as saying.

Sources said that Musharraf has repeatedly expressed a willingness to work with his political opponents, and would welcome the newly elected parliamentarians as a confidence-building step.

The sources said that apart from taking credit for free and fair election in the elections, Musharraf might also praise the Members of Parliament for their political reconciliation in his address.

The incoming coalition government comprises the PPP, the PML-N, the ANP and the JUI-F. The sources said that the president was not willing to resign from the office of the presidency.

ANI