By APP
New York : President Pervez Musharraf says he would work with the new government that political parties were trying to form in the wake of Monday’s elections, hoping that it would follow a conciliatory course.“The confrontational politics of the 1990’s should be left behind,” the president said in a major interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), his first after the national polls that have universally been acknowledged as free and fair.
“We have to go for conciliatory politics and harmonious interaction within the government, between various parties and between the prime minister and the government. I will strive towards that end. On the other side, I can’t say,” he added.
In the wide-ranging interview published in the Journal’s Wednesday edition, the President also discussed the judiciary, democracy, his relationship with President George W. Bush and the fight against terrorism and extremism.
Replying to a question, President Musharraf said he had not met with either Nawaz Sharif, leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N or Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party since the election.
He also made it clear that he intends to stay in office to guide Pakistan’s democratic transition, saying he has no plans to step down. “We have to move forward in a way that we bring about a stable democratic government to Pakistan.”
About the relationship between the president and the prime minister, Musharraf asserted that Pakistan now has the checks and balances in place. “The prime minister runs the government. The president has his own position, but has no authority running the government,” he said.
Answering a question, the president said that restoring the former chief justice of Pakistan and other judges was not a possibility. “Legally there’s no way this can be done,” he said. “I can’t even imagine how this is doable.”