Nawaz not to attend PM's oath-taking ceremony

Islamabad, Mar 24: PML-N chief and former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif will not attend the oath-taking ceremony of new Pakistan premier Yousuf Raza Gillani tomorrow, while PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has not yet decided about attending the ceremony, sources in the two parties said.

PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said that Sharif will not be attending the oath-taking ceremony of the incoming prime minister and his cabinet on Tuesday morning at the presidency. "His participation in a presidency-hosted function is out of question," the Daily Times quoted him as saying, without giving any reason for the same.

On the other hand, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari had yet to decide on whether he would attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi said that he was unaware if the chiefs of the PML-N and the PPP were invited to Tuesday's ceremony.

ANI