US can't withdraw troops without consultation: Mukhtar

GUJRAT Federal Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has said that there is no rift between the PPP government and the establishment, maintaining that President Asif Ali Zardari wants to make historic amendments in the Constitution, which would be completed by the end of March.
Talking to the media at his office in Gujrat Saturday, he said that the teams of constitutional experts were reviewing the pros and cons of two amendments in the Constitution and hopefully the process would be completed by the end of March. He said that the PPP was taking time to amend the Constitution.
Commenting on PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbals statement of taking out long march against the 17th Amendment, he said Iqbal uses to air such statements, saying that the PML-N should understand that both the parities would suffer equally in case of any change.
He stated the prime minister had requested the PML-N leadership to join the federal cabinet and there was no pressure on the government from the security establishment in this regard. He said that Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza should apologise to the nation for his statement, which he made against the country on the eve of Benazir Bhuttos second anniversary on December 27.
About the US announcement to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the minister revealed that according to the agreement, the Obama administration could not do this without consulting the Pakistani authorities. Commenting on the power outages, Mukhtar said that the loadshedding would reduce in the mid of January when the canals would receive enough water.