KARACHI
PPP leader Babar Awan’s meeting with PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi was just a routine matter and part of the PPP’s reconciliation policy, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday.
Talking to editors of Sindhi newspapers at the Sindh Chief Minister’s House, Gilani said the PPP government did not want a conflict with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, adding that the policy of reconciliation was necessary to strengthen the institutions of the country.
“All political parties, including the PML-Q had supported me when I was elected prime minister,” Gilani said. “The country has started its journey from dictatorship to democracy. The institutions of the state will eventually be in a better position,” he said.
The prime minister said the next general elections will decide which political party was popular in the country. “Let the government complete its tenure. Accountability will start after that.” Gilani said Karachi was a mini-Pakistan, and restoring law and order in the city was the government’s first priority.
“The coalition partners in the Sindh government must play their role in maintaining law and order in the city.” Speaking on the controversial Kalabagh Dam project, the prime minister said it was a dead issue and the dam could not be constructed without the consensus of all provinces. “The dam can only be constructed after the Council of Common Interests permits it,” he said.
“The government wants to take the judiciary into confidence on the matter.” Gilani said flood victims would not be left alone in their time of need and the government would continue to support them. He said the government would hold talks with the quarters concerned to stop the import of sugar and the cabinet would soon take a decision on a ban on livestock export.
