August 28, 2008	Thursday	Sha'aban 25, 1429

QUETTA, Aug 27: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who is also convener of the All Parties Democratic Alliance, has called for postponement of presidential election for a few days so that political parties could agree on a common candidate and avoid confrontation.

Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, he announced postponement of a strike call given by the APDM for Sept 1. He, however, supported lawyers’ decision to hold two-hour sit-ins on Thursdays in protest against delay in reinstatement of the deposed judges.

Mr Achakzai said being the majority party in the National Assembly, the PPP had the right to nominate its candidate for the post of president. But a consensus candidate, he added, would help improve the political environment.

He called upon Mr Asif Zardari to take into confidence all political forces, including, PML-N and APDM, on the issues of presidential election and the reinstatement of the deposed judges.

Mr Achakzai said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had publicly stated that all deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, would be reinstated and, therefore, political parties should avoid a confrontation on the issue. He said the country was facing a dangerous situation and any act of “political adventurism” could aggravate the crisis.

He called upon all parties to act responsibly to steer the country out of the current impasse.