Islamabad, January 03: Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, facing calls to resign from former allies, received a boost today as President Asif Ali Zardari and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party threw their weight behind him.
Zardari, who is camping in the southern city of Karachi, said he and the PPP have “full confidence” in Gilani and would “solidly stand behind him in foiling any attempt to destabilise the coalition government”.
The President made the assertion hours after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a former ally of the PPP, demanded that Gilani and his cabinet should resign as the coalition had lost its majority in parliament after the withdrawal of support by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement yesterday.
The MQM, with its 25 lawmakers in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament, played a key role in propping up the PPP-led government.
–Agencies