Gilani a powerful PM, says Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Yousuf Raza Gilani is a powerful Prime Minister, and reports that PPPs popularity graph is on the decline are not true.
In an interview with a private TV channel on Monday, he said that after February 18 elections, Chaudhry Nisar had proposed him to hold the office of the Prime Minister but PPP unanimously named Yousuf Raza Gilani as the Premier.
He said that Pervez Musharraf had also offered him to become the Prime Minister. He said that he had asked the Parliament twice to scrap the 17th Amendment and process had been initiated in this regard.
'Abrogation of the 17th Amendment is part of the PPP manifesto, he added.
'I do not want to use it as a weapon, he declared.
He further said that his party will completely implement Charter of Democracy.
Talking on the demand for action against former President Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution, Zardari said that revenge should be satisfied with reconciliation and the matter should be left to the Parliament.
The decision of the Parliament will be acceptable to everbody, he added.
He said that the country was facing serious challenges which could not be ignored for a single person.
Zardari called for strengthening democracy and the institutions.
Talking about NRO, the President said that he had already passed many years in jail.
'The cases registered against him were not proved while NRO has become a matter of past, he said, adding, 'it is not an issue.
To a question, he said that some people wanted clash with institutions.
He said, 'we have not asked to lodged FIR against Musharraf.
He said that he wanted better relations with PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif.
The PML-N has its own interests, so do we have, he added.
We have given them seat of Leader of the Opposition and appointed their member as Chairman of Accounts Committees which was not done in the past, he said.
He asked Nawaz Sharif to play his positive role to strengthen democracy.
To a question, the President said that govt had asked the US and European countries to assist Pakistan through trade rather than aid.
'The world should end its experiment campaign on this region and let us live in our own style, he said.