ISLAMABAD, March 10: President Pervez Musharraf held consultations with his legal and constitutional aides on Monday on the PPP-PML-N declaration pledging reinstatement of deposed judges within 30 days of formation of the federal government.

According to reliable sources, the president was informed that his Nov 3 action had comprehensive constitutional cover and could not be reversed by a simple NA resolution.

During the meeting, held at the president’s camp office in Rawalpindi, the issue of convening the National Assembly session also came up for discussion.

The president said he had fulfilled all his promises made to the nation, including the holding of fair, free and transparent election, and he was ready for transfer of power to the newly-elected government.

The sources quoted the president as telling his constitutional experts that he did not want any confrontation and hoped that the winning parties would reciprocate in the larger interest of the country.

According to an agency report, President Musharraf has scoffed at speculation that he would attempt to derail the results of Feb 18 elections by using his constitutional powers to dismiss parliament, or not call parliament into session.

“You think someone who has spent his entire adult life defending Pakistan and the past eight years trying to put democracy back on track wants to see the government fail and the country return to political anarchy?

“No. I’m committed to making this work,” he said in an interview with a US newspaper Washington Times on Monday.

The interview was recorded before the two main political parties which have won the elections, announced the formation of a virtual united front against Mr Musharraf.

The president said political stability was his top priority and that a war between the presidency and the newly-elected parliament would not be in national interest.

“I’m looking forward to working with this government for full five years,” Mr Musharraf said.

“Even my harshest critics have agreed that the recent elections were free and fair. Now, I want to build on that.”

When asked about pressure to step down, President Musharraf replied: “The elections clearly pointed out that the Pakistan People’s Party currently enjoys the highest percentage of the people’s confidence, no question. Reading more into it than that is risky.”

He listed his three top priorities: political stability, the continuation of country’s economic development and success in the war on terrorism.

“You’ll notice that I listed political stability first, because without that, you cannot have the other two,” he said.