Consensus: PM promises interim set-up ‘acceptable to all’

PM says he will contact opposition leader for interim prime minister nominees.

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has said that he would ensure an interim set-up that is acceptable to all.

In an interview with a private news channel in London, the premier said an interim prime minister would be finalised after consulting opposition and allied political parties. He added that he would write a letter to the leader of the opposition seeking nominations in this regard.

The prime minister declined a direct comment on whether the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid would join hands in the upcoming polls or run the elections separately, saying it could go either way.

The premier further said the continuation of democracy in the country could only be ensured through free and fair elections. He said PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto were the true martyrs of democracy, while opportunists were falsely portraying themselves as the champions.

The prime minister also went on to dismiss a news story published in a section of press stating that a highly expensive suit was bought for him from London’s famous department store Harrods for his meeting with the British prime minister. “For the meeting [with the British prime minister], I wore my two-year-old suit and my four-year-old pair of shoes, the same which I am wearing right now,” the prime minister said, pointing to his attire.

In another interview with a private news channel, the prime minister said he had wished to meet Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Husain in London to personally express gratitude for his party’s support for the PPP government.  However, he said the meeting could not take place as the MQM chief was not currently in the UK.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2013.