Gilani says PPP won't contest general elections if promises not fulfilled

Islamabad, Jan. 5 (ANI): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won't contest the next general election if the government fails to fulfil its promises before the completion of its five-year tenure.

"If we failed to fulfil the promises in five years, we will not contest the next general elections," the Daily Times quoted Gilani, as saying.

Gilani blamed the Musharraf regime's "bad governance" for leaving the country's economy to function on the basis of subsidies.

"As a result of good governance, now the current government has started to cut expenditures, decrease borrowing and improve its monetary policies," he said, adding that Pakistan had sought IMF's help because the country's economy had totally collapsed and foreign exchange reserves had fallen to 6 billion dollars.

The reserves, he said, have now risen to 15 billion dollars.

Gilani said the government was making "tough decisions" to bring the economy back on the right track.

"It is the right of public to evaluate the government's performance, and if we cannot fulfil our promises during the five-year tenure, people will not re-elect us," he said.

Gilani also told reporters that the government was considering importing gas from Iran and other countries to overcome its shortage. (ANI)