Ruling parties will have to forge working relation with Mush, Gilani

Sun, May 18 02:19 PM

Islamabad, May 18 (PTI) Declaring that the ruling alliance will not become hostage to President Pervez Musharraf's wishes, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has, nevertheless, said it would have to forge a working relationship with the former military ruler despite "reservations". Gilani also said his government is committed to reinstating judges sacked by Musharraf during last year's emergency and the matter is being held up only due to a disagreement on the modalities for implementing it.

The new government had "inherited a President and we will have to have a working relationship with him despite our reservations," he told journalists accompanying him on a visit to Egypt to attend the World Economic Forum for Middle East. Gilani said the government is adhering to the Charter of Democracy signed by the PML-N and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in 2006 and "we are committed to it".

He added: "As a first step, we have released the detained judges and talks are under way. Every wrong can be righted.

We all want the judges restored. There is a disagreement only on the modality of implementation.

" When it was pointed out to him that the President's camp is reportedly working on a formula whereby all the deposed judges except former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry are reinstated, Gilani said it "was not necessary that all of the President's desires be fulfilled". "He (Musharraf) wanted a political system minus (slain former premier) Benazir Bhutto and (PML-N chief) Nawaz Sharif, but their parties are very much a part of the system now," Gilani was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Gilani also said he had an "excellent relationship" with Sharif and expressed the hope that the former Premier would continue to support the ruling coalition despite pulling out the PML-N ministers from the federal Cabinet. PTI.

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