August 12, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 9, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 11: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the National Assembly session will continue till the process of impeachment against President Pervez Musharraf is completed.

Presiding over a meeting of coalition parties’ lawmakers at the Parliament House on Monday, the prime minister said that even if the president resigned the NA sittings would continue for two to three weeks.

He said that during his US visit he had asked President Bush to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and independence, promote democracy and avoid interfering in its internal affairs.

He said he had taken a ‘strong stance’ on the question of Gen (retd) Musharraf and said he would not like a ‘political death’ because he felt powerless in the presence of the president.

He said that Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama had promised to work with his government if he won the election.

The meeting was attended by MNAs belonging to the PPP, PML-N, ANP and JUI-F as well as Fata lawmakers.

Water and Power Minister Raja Parvaiz Ashraf and Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar told reporters after the meeting that the coalition parliamentarians were satisfied with the process of impeachment.

Fata lawmakers are reported to have asked the government to stop military operations in tribal areas and end US interference in the region.

Mr Gilani assured them that they would be given a detailed briefing by the agencies concerned on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed the impeachment process and the legislators pledged full support for the government’s move.

PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra told journalists that the meeting was attended by a large number of parliamentarians which indicated that the impeachment move would achieve complete success.