Interim set-up would be acceptable for all:PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

Islamabad: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has said that an interim set-up which is acceptable to all, will be ensured.

The Prime Minister in an interview with Dunya News in London said the name for interim prime minister would be finalized after consultation with the Opposition and allied political parties.

Raja Ashraf said it was a constitutional obligation upon him to consult for the name of interim prime minister. He said he would write letter to leader of the Opposition to seek nominations.

Whether Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League(Q) would join hands in the upcoming polls or would run for the election separately, the Prime Minister said the probability could be either way.

In another interview with Geo News in London, the Prime Minister said he desired to meet Altaf Hussain  the chief of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) 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 present in the United Kingdom.

Terming MQM as the government’s best ally, Raja Ashraf said soon after he landed in London, he had sent a goodwill message to Altaf Hussain. The Prime Minister said for the first time in the country’s history, a government was nearing completion of its five-year tenure. He said the continuation of democracy could be ensured only through free and fair elections.

The Prime Minister said the great Bhuttos laid their lives for democracy in the country. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were the true martyrs of democracy, while the opportunists were falsely portraying themselves as the champions.

Raja Ashraf dismissed a news published in a section of press that a highly expensive suit was bought for him from the 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 told the television correspondent, pointing to his attire.