Gilani says PPP-led govt in Pak will survive its full term

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani believes his government will survive its full term and key ally PML-N will not withdraw support despite serious differences within ruling coalition on the issue of reinstatement of the deposed judges.
    
Questions are being raised about the future of the two-month-old coalition led by Gilani after talks in London between PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to work out modalities for reinstating dozens of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf last year ended in deadlock over the weekend.
    
The two parties have already missed the self-imposed deadline of April 30 for restoring the judges who were sacked for not endorsing last year's emergency rule and Sharif has been insisting that they should be reinstated by May 12.
    
However, Zardari has not committed himself to this fresh deadline or agreed on a plan to reinstate the judges.
    
Despite the sharp differences, Gilani said he believed the PML-N would not withdraw its ministers from his government even if the May 12 deadline is missed. "He (Sharif) will support the government. Certainly," Gilani said.
    
When asked about senior PML-N leader Javed Hashmi's threat that the party will withdraw from the government if the judges are not restored, he said: "This is (putting) a cart before the horse. Because they haven't as yet decided what would be the fate...And even if they have to take a decision, then it is at the level of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari."
    
Noting that his government will "certainly" survive, Gilani said: "Actually there was a deadline previously it was (April 30) according to the Murree Declaration (signed by the PPP and PML-N to form a coalition).
    
"But later, the modalities were to be worked out and then Nawaz Sharif gave the date for (May 12). Now both the leaders Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are meeting in London and what would be the outcome, everybody would come to know," Gilani says.
    
Replying to a question on whether Sharif trusted him and is prepared to accept his intention to reinstate the judges, Gilani said: "He is a very mature leader. I think there is no doubt about it."
    
The PPP's intention is to resolve the issue, he said, adding: "But at the same time, we are working out the modalities and for example, if they (parliament) pass something which is not constitutional, it will be a problem. Therefore, we are working out the modalities for that."
    
Gilani hinted that the PPP wanted the judges to be reinstated through a constitutional package for judicial reforms but said the contents of the package are currently "secret".
    
Asked about the government being "stuck" on the restoration of judges at a time when the people had so many expectations from it, he said: "But that's what we have inherited. What we had been saying in our manifesto, that's a part of our election campaign. We got the mandate for that."
    
Gilani said he had "very good relations" with Zardari and dismissed speculation that the PPP co-chairman has the power while the Prime Minister is just a "front". "That is not true. We work collectively but I am the consensus, unanimous Prime Minister," he said.
    
"It's a democratic party and the party has decided that the two offices should not be kept together. I was vice chairman of my party. Now the party office and the government office would be separated. He (Zardari) will be looking after the party affairs, I'll be looking after the government affairs," Gilani added.
    
Asked whether Zardari makes the decisions and he implements them, Gilani said: "The party takes the decisions on policy matters...because we have decided that in future there should be more democracy within the party and the party should make the policies and they should be implemented and executed by the government."
  
Replying to a question on whether he had to defer to Zardari and Sharif on key issues, the prime minister said, "No, what I think fit, I implement it...If there is a need for consulting, I do it."
     Asked if he was embarrassed that he was not part of the crucial talks between the PPP and PML-N in Dubai and London to sort out differences on the reinstatement of the deposed judges, he said: "I am not embarrassed because I am being kept briefed and informed. (Law Minister) Farooq Naek has been extensively briefing me and I am also in touch with Mr Zardari."
    
Gilani said his two main goals are to restore law and order and tackle poverty to improve the people's lives in Pakistan.