Think of nation's interest: Gilani asks Nawaz

Lahore, Jun 1: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has urged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif to think of the nation's interest, and avoid making impractical demands on the government, suggesting that coalition relationship is cooling off.

Reiterating that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) respects Sharif and would not undertake unsuitable actions, Gilani said that his party was not against the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. Parliament, he said, was the proper forum to settle the issue, and it is wrong to assume that the PPP does not wish to fulfill the public demand for change, which included restoration of the sacked judiciary and press freedom.

He reiterated that the PPP wanted the restoration of the judiciary, the supremacy of law, the restoration of the Constitution and a sovereign and independent parliament. Regarding the Kalabagh Dam (KBD), the premier said that no government in the past 60 years had been able to construct the dam.

To another question on the targetted killing of Punjabis in Balochistan, he said that conditions in the province were improving following the release of Akhtar Mengal. He said that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari would hold a conference to settle all issues in the province and assured that the military operation in the region had been ended.

Later, speaking to Channel 5, Gilani said the government was working towards securing a two-thirds majority in the Senate. He said the PPP had not brought President Musharraf into power, adding that the party's leadership was trying to convince the people who had done so.

The Daily Times also quoted Gilani as saying that the government had not signed any deal with militants, and adding that peace deals in the Tribal Areas were the result of efforts undertaken by the Awami National Party (ANP), which is a coalition partner in the present government.

ANI