LAHORE, March 3: The PML-N on Tuesday said reconciliation and a constructive dialogue with President Asif Ali Zardari were possible if sacked judges were reinstated, 17th Amendment repealed and the Charter of Democracy implemented.

Announcing the decision at a press conference in Raiwind after 207 members of the Punjab assembly had reposed confidence in his leadership, PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif said: “We are ready for a meaningful dialogue because we prefer national interest over personal interests.”

The conditions, he said, had been faxed to Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani who had conveyed to him a message of President Zardari in Bahawalpur on Monday.

He expressed the hope that President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would respond positively.

Blaming President Zardari for the crisis in Punjab, he accused him of patronising Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who was indulging in what he termed illegal and unconstitutional activities.

Praising parliamentarians of the PML-N and PML-Q forward bloc for supporting him, he said that it was impossible to make even a single MPA to defect to the PPP, adding that the Punjab governor would fail to instal a PPP government in the province.

He thanked political leaders, including Awami National Party’s president Asfandyar Wali and PML-Q’s secretary-general Mushahid Hussain, for supporting the PML-N, condemning the judicial verdict and the imposition of the governor’s rule in Punjab.

Defending the food, health and education policies he pursued as chief minister, Mr Sharif said charges levelled against him by the governor were baseless and fabricated.

About the use of official advertisements for personal publicity, he said that no ad carried his photograph and that the media campaign of his government was aimed at creating public awareness.
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