'Parliament is the supreme institution that will sort out all matters, including the issue concerning the President'. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani averred this in a press briefing after his arrival at the Old Lahore Airport here on Saturday.
Referring to a strategy to be evolved on issues concerning the country, he said the PPP government would not go on a solo flight but take all its coalition partners along while settling them.
Dispelling the impression about differences between the PPP and the PML-N over the issue of the President, Gilani said that all issues would be settled by taking all the stakeholders into confidence. The parliament is the supreme forum and whenever the coalition will have two-thirds majority, it will sort out the issue of the President, he said. Talking about political sagacity of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Gilani said it was because of her that President Pervez Musharraf doffed his army uniform.
Talking about sacrifices of the party, he said the PPP had always rendered them abundantly for the cause of democracy, supremacy of judiciary and parliament and the 1973 Constitution. The Prime Minister said sacrifices rendered by the party had no parallel in entire sub-continent.
About the Kalabagh dam project, Yusuf Raza Gilani said that PPP's stance had always been that it should be constructed with consensus of all the four provinces.
He asked as to why no government constructed Kalabagh dam during the last 60 years. "We do not tell lies to masses on the controversial dam," he said, responding to a question. The Prime Minister said the government was focusing its prime attention on construction of small dams to cater to the energy and water needs of the country.
To a question about Balochistan, Gilani said: "There is a sense of deprivation in Balochistan and we will settle all issues of the province through dialogue."
He said PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari would soon call an All Parties Conference (APC) in Balochistan, adding the government had stopped army operation in Balochistan and the situation is gradually improving there.
Earlier, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer welcomed the Prime Minister on his arrival at the airport. Senior Punjab Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed belonging to PPP, Punjab Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Excise and Taxation Minister Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, MNAs Samina Ghurki and Tasleem Qureshi, PPP Lahore President Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan. and others were present on the occasion.