Pakistani PM rules out early elections in the country

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ruled out the possibility of an early elections in the country, media reported on Monday. According to reports the Prime Minister asked his rivals to wait their turn until the 2013 elections. He said those trying to create problems for the PPP government, were afraid of its victory in Senate elections in March next year. The prime minister claimed that many of the clauses in the 18th constitutional amendment had been written specifically to benefit the opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, especially the one that removed the bar on a third term as prime minister for any individual. “Sharif should remember that the PPP put the interest of one person [him] over that of 180 million Pakistanis. It is now up to the people to decide whether or not they want to elect him,” he said. He said the PPP government respected all institutions functioning within the limits set by the Constitution. Gilani has normally been the peacemaker in the PPP administration, a role that suits his personality and made easier by his family’s close personal ties with the Sharifs. He has normally refrained from criticising the Sharifs openly or by name.