8 April 2005	Friday	28 Safar 1426

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SHEIKHUPURA, April 7: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Thursday that the MMA could not achieve anything through its long marches and strikes which harmed only the poor man’s interest at some places.The transporters who initially kept away for fear of damage to their vehicles on the strike day, started operating afterwards. He was talking to reporters after performing the ground-breaking ceremony of a tractor assembly plant here.

The prime minister said there was no benefit of negative politics which harms only the country and the poor people.

He said the government-opposition dialogue was a continuous process. Maulana Fazlur Rehman had called on him on Tuesday. “We have asked everyone to discuss their differences in assemblies, rather than taking to roads, because this would only promote democracy in the country, he said.

When his attention was drawn towards a recent statement of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain about the government-PPP negotiations, the prime minister said dialogue was a continuous process which sometimes “delivers and sometimes fails.” Whatever Chaudhry Shujaat had said was correct.

He said the committee, headed by Chaudhry Shujaat, had played a positive role in bringing normalcy in Sui and Dera Bugti. Peace was prevailing there for the past many days.

He said the 22 agreements signed between Pakistan and China, especially the Treaty for Friendship and Cooperation, would bring them more closer in many areas like defence, nuclear technology, trade and commerce.

“China has never signed such treaty with any other country. Through it, we have vowed to support each other, and will increase our cooperation in many fields.”

The Chinese premier’s visit held a historic importance as this would give a new direction to Sino-Pak relations, he said.