OKARA, April 20: President Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out unilateral troop withdrawal from Siachen and said that demilitarisation of the area would be possible only if India also agreed to it.

Addressing a convention of workers of his party at the residence of Minister for Kashmir Affairs Mian Manzoor Ahmad Khan Wattoo in Wasawela on Friday, Mr Zardari said Pakistan was willing to hold talks with India on all issues.

The president and the people attending the convention offered prayers for the army personnel trapped in Siachen.

The president said the government would consider a proposal put forth by Mian Manzoor Wattoo for connecting Multan with New Delhi with a route through the Sulemanki headworks to boost trade and economic activities.

Maintaining his tirade against the Sharifs, Mr Zardari against severely criticised the Sharifs and said that Shahbaz Sharif was behaving like a Mughal prince.

He said he and his party had delegated powers to provinces, but Mian Shahbaz was not ready to hand over 17 provincial ministries to his MPAs.

He said the younger Sharif always heaped slur on the PPP and its leadership, while the PPP talked about reconciliation.

He said he had supported the N-League government in Punjab in order to assess their political capability.