JACOBABAD, March 7: President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday the first session of the National Assembly would be summoned in two weeks and pledged his full support to the incoming government.

He asked majority parties to engage themselves in forming the coalition government rather than wasting time.

(According to AFP, President Musharraf said: “I promise if peace is maintained, I will fully support the new coalition governments. All political parties should demonstrate prudence and focus on governance and this is possible only if all of them demonstrate peace.”)

Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a potable water project, he said the people had given the winning parties the mandate to fight extremism and they should meet the expectations of the people.

He said that moderate forces had won the elections and this showed that 160 million people were capable of safeguarding the country’s nuclear arms.

President Musharraf said that the parties which had been defeated must stop levelling allegations about rigging because they had been rejected by the people.He said he was ready to work ‘amicably’ with the new government and expressed the hope that the new assembly would complete its five-year term.

The president rejected reports about differences between him and the army and said: “I have served the army for 37 years and I know the army very well. These rumours are being spread by anti-state elements which do not want to see Pakistan a progressive and welfare state.”

He said that efforts to combat terrorism and extremism would continue, adding that he had never bypassed the Constitution.

The president said that the media should be independent and free, but it must act in a responsible manner and realise the gravity of the situation.

He said the water project in Jacobabad was a big achievement and people of the district would now have access to clean water.

He asked Sindh Chief Minister Abdul Qadir Halepoto to constitute a water board so that people in the province could be provided clean drinking water.

The president said that Rs200 million was being provided for new water pipelines.

President Musharraf in the afternoon arrived in Karachi by air from Jacobabad, adds PPI.