May 29, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429

LAHORE, May 28: Although the PPP wants President Pervez Musharraf to quit, its immediate objective is to get the constitutional package adopted because reforming the system and state institutions is an important task, according to MNA Farzana Raja.

Ms Raja, who is central coordinator of the PPP’s information bureau, said her party wanted to strengthen the democratic system, achieve a balance between the powers of the president and the prime minister and dispense with distortions in the Constitution.

She was asked to comment on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s statement that President Musharraf should be tried for treason and called for denying him a safe exit.

When asked if Mr Zardari had given some sort of a commitment to the PML-N leader about impeaching the president, she said: “I am not aware of it.”

Reiterating the PPP’s commitment to reinstating the deposed judges, she said her party had sacrificed a lot for democracy and independence of the judiciary, adding that it would not waste its sacrifices. She said the PPP would think about initiating a process to remove the president if the provincial assemblies passed resolutions and lawyers and members of the civil society advised it to take the step. The PPP, she said, would move in cooperation with its coalition partners.

Another PPP leader, who did not want to be named, said the stakes of Mr Zardari were different from those of Mr Sharif and while the PML-N leader wanted to get things done instantaneously, the PPP co-chairman preferred to pursue a cautious approach.

Both leaders wanted to achieve the same objective, but they differed on ways of doing that, he said.