KARACHI, Feb 6: Defence minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal has said that he was trying to end differences between the PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf.

“I’m waiting for its outcome,” he said while answering a question at a press conference at the Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) head-office on Tuesday.

Regarding a possible merger of the PPP-Patriots with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, he said that four of his MNAs have joined the ruling party but declined to comment on it.

On the question of privatisation of the national flag carrier, the minister said: “PIA will not be privatised in near future”.

On the criticism of PIA in the Senate and the National Assembly, he said that there had been some problems with the Senators and the MNAs who questioned “just for the sake of opposition” though they themselves were not serious about it.