ISLAMABAD: President-elect Asif Ali Zardari has said parliament is sovereign and the president should be subservient to parliament.

“Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had stated that democracy is the best revenge and the people of the country made it possible,” he said in his maiden brief chat with newsmen after being elected as the president at an Iftar dinner hosted by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in honour of parliamentarians at the Prime Minister House here on Friday.

Asif Ali Zardari, while addressing the parliamentarians belonging to the ruling coalition, said that he would be answerable to parliament.

Asif Zardari, flanked by his daughters Bakhtawar and Asifa, said that the democratic journey had now reached its idealistic destination. “It is the victory of the political philosophy of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and it has been proven that democracy is the best revenge,” he added.

The president-elect said with his election the party had crossed another milestone and the democratic process had completed. “I reiterate that parliament is sovereign and the president would be subservient to the house of the people’s representatives,” he added.

The president-elect said: “Democracy talks and everyone hears and those who say that the PPP or the presidency is controversial would prove incorrect and under our guardianship and our stewardship, I would say, listen to democracy. Ninety-nine per cent of the people have spoken,” Zardari said.

He said he would continue to follow the philosophy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed for serving the nation. “The man in uniform never performs but democracy talks and everybody hears,” he added.

He said it was the victory of the democratic forces that parliament had elected him the president with two-thirds majority.

Later, in his remarks Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the victory of Asif Ali Zardari would prove to be a source of strength to the federation. He said as symbol of the federation, the PPP would continue to work for strengthening the country.

The prime minister congratulated the nation on the victory of Asif Ali Zardari.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued after his election, Asif Ali Zardari thanked the nation for electing him as the 12th president of Pakistan with an overwhelming majority.

“In the name of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, I humbly thank the people of Pakistan for their faith in me and for entrusting me with the responsibility to represent them at the highest office of the country,” he added.

He said that he pledged to carry forward the mission of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto for a democratic and progressive Pakistan. “I bow my head before God and pray to Him to give me strength to deliver on the nation’s expectations as I have taken this important responsibility,” he added.

He said that his election as a consensus president was the triumph of the ideals, policies and the principles of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, who was determined to turn Pakistan into a society with strong political and democratic structures.

“Today’s peaceful election marks another step towards the transition to democracy that the Shaheed Mohtarma was committed to. She strongly believed that a system advocating people’s rule was the destiny of Pakistan and was worth every sacrifice. My election as the representative of the people of Pakistan is a demonstration that the Mohtarma continues to live for and rules from her grave in Garhi Khuda Baksh,” he noted.

The PPP co-chairman said that the democratic process needed total commitment from all the political forces. “Pakistan’s democracy is being closely watched and arguments are being made about its inability to hold. It’s a challenge, not only for me and for the democratic forces, but also for the people of Pakistan. We have to prove wrong the perception that Pakistan and democracy cannot go together. I want to tell all those doubting our nation’s commitment for a representative political order, that ours is the nation that has made the biggest sacrifices for the cause of democracy, ours is the nation that has looked dictatorship in its eyes and said ‘Kitney Bhutto Maaro Gay, Har Ghar Sey Bhutto Niklay Ga’, ours is the nation that braved the might of the state, yet fought on the streets for their rights to determine their own destiny.”

Zardari said that he must protect and uphold these values as a great responsibility. “I make a pledge to the people of Pakistan that I will do what I have been tasked to do,” he maintained.

He said: “I wish to restore people’s trust and faith in the office of the president that after a decade of non-democratic rule has been seen as the centre of conspiracies against the nation. I have been sent by the people of Pakistan to this office to fix the imbalances in the system, bring peace into the country and unite all the democratic forces to consolidate the political system so that any other option of governance never finds its way in our nation’s life in the name of ‘doctrine of necessity’.”

The PPP co-chairman urged all democratic forces to come forward and support him in achieving the mission to bring complete democracy in Pakistan.

“My presence in the office represents the ideals that the nation wants its political leadership to implement. I need everybody’s support for this objective. It’s a historical opportunity for all the political forces to change the future direction of the country. We must rise above the party lines to shut the doors on non-democratic forces, once and for all,” Zardari enunciated.

World leaders greet Zardari

PARIS: Leaders in Western countries and neighbours Iran and Afghanistan congratulated Pakistan's new president Asif Ali Zardari upon his election on Saturday.

In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said US President George W Bush "looks forward to working with him, Prime Minister Gilani, and the government of Pakistan on issues important to both countries."

Those include "counterterrorism and making sure Pakistan has a stable and secure economy."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed Asif Ali Zardari's election as president on Saturday and praised what she said was his emphasis on fighting terrorism.

Speaking to reporters travelling with her in north Africa, Rice said she was looking forward to working with Zardari, adding she had spoken to him on telephone but had not as yet met him.

"Now with a new president, I think we have got a good way forward," she said. "I was impressed by some of the things that he said about the challenges that Pakistan faces, about the centrality of fighting terrorism, and about the fact that the terrorism fight is Pakistan's fight and also his very strong words of friendship and alliance with the United States."

Britain pledged to work closely with Zardari to promote stability and fight the "shared threat of violent extremism" in the country.

In a statement hours after lawmakers voted Zardari into office, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he looked "forward to working closely with president Zardari to further deepen our partnership with Pakistan."

"We want to work with the government to support measures that promote stability, democracy and the rule of law and strengthen the democratic transition," Miliband added.

"We believe that Pakistan's people are best served by a democratic government, and that strong democratic institutions are the key to delivering long-term stability, good governance and prosperity."

He went on: "The United Kingdom stands ready to assist the government in combating the shared threat of violent extremism and meeting the economic challenges they face. And we remain strongly committed to our partnership with the Pakistani people, notably through our aid programme."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he hoped Zardari's election would herald an upturn in relations.

"Hamid Karzai, besides congratulating the Pakistan's People's Party over their victory in the election, wished success for Asif Ali Zardari," a statement from the Afghan leader's office said.

Karzai is said to have had a good relationship with Zardari's late wife, who headed the Pakistan People's Party.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hoped bilateral ties will expand. "I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations for your deserving election as president of the Islamic republic of Pakistan to you, your government and nation," he said in a statement quoted by the IRNA news agency.

"Voicing complete readiness of the Islamic republic of Iran to expand cooperation with Pakistan in all fields, I hope we witness the expansion and strengthening of good relations between the two countries."

From Brussels, the European Union urged Pakistan's new leader to help ease security concerns in the region. France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, called for "an easing of tensions in the region and encourages the Pakistani authorities to make a decisive contribution to regional stability."

The French EU presidency "encourages in particular Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and assures the new president that it will continue to support him on that path," a statement said.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said: "I trust that under your presidency the government will implement appropriate policies to meet the important economic and security challenges the country is currently facing." He said the commission would work with Pakistan to help meet the challenges.

Zardari’s election expression of people’s will, says Sherry

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Sherry Rehman has described Asif Ali Zardari's election an expression of people's will as he had pursued the constitutional path to become the president.

"It is a victory of political philosophy of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, and now the government would focus its energies to strengthen the democratic institutions of the country and the resolution of people's problems," she said while talking to news persons outside the Parliament House on Saturday after the announcement of unofficial results of the presidential election.

She said the PPP and its co-chairman had given great sacrifices during the past 11 years and raised the flag of democracy, federation and unity. "Now the possibility of confrontation between parliament and presidency would end as both the prime minister and the president belong to the same party," she added.

When asked about Asif Zardari's resignation as the co-chairman of the PPP, she said the Central Executive Committee and the Federal Council of the party will decide this issue after thorough consultations.

Replying a question regarding the allegations of horse-trading in the presidential election, she said no horse-trading took place during the election process as the PPP had clear majority in the Electoral College.

To a question about the PPP and the PML-N political relations after the presidential election, she said our doors are still open for talks with them. "The federal government is enjoying cordial relations with the provinces and wants to run the affairs with consensus," she added.

She said there was a golden opportunity to create balance of power between the two important pillars of the state and return parliament its powers, which were taken by the presidency during the dictatorial rule.

She said the government believed in parliament's supremacy and would take all decisions through parliament. "We will resolve issues through discussions and debate and would not take hasty decisions to ensure superiority of parliament," she added.

Special Mehfil-e-Quran Khawani held at Awan-i-Sadr

ISLAMABAD: A Mehfil-i-Quran Khawani was held here at the Awan-i-Sadr on Sunday to offer special prayers for the peace, progress, prosperity, solidarity and integrity of the country. The participants included Members of the Parliament, mostly women offered special prayers for the departed souls of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

They prayed for the success of PPP Co-Chairman and President-elect Asif Ali Zardari in his endeavors to make the country more strong, stable and prosperous.

The participants also prayed to Allah Almighty to grant courage to President-elect Asif Ali Zardari to serve the country and nation with full dedication and make Pakistan as one of the developed countries in the comity of nations.

Prominent among those who attended the Quran Khawani included MNAs Dr. Farayal Talpur, Mehreen Anwar Raja, Rukhsana Bangash, Fouzia Habib, Farah Naz Isfahani and MPAs Nargis Faiz Malik, Saima Khar and others.

Senator Dr. Babar Awan at the conclusion of Quran Khawani led the prayers for the country’s peace and progress under the democratic leadership.

Dictatorship stands defeated: Nawaz

LAHORE: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has congratulated Asif Zardari on becoming president and said it was the victory of the democratic process.

He said a president who entered the President House through a constitutional process after eight years of dictatorship symbolised the success of democracy.

He said it was unfortunate that four generals had occupied the country for 33 years through misuse of military authority.

He said the election of Zardari as president through seeking votes from parliament and the federal units in accordance with the constitutional process was a good news for the democratic forces.

"The rival candidates of Asif Zardari also used their democratic right. The PML-N accepts the win of Zardari and congratulates him," he said.

"We expect from Zardari that he will prove himself a true symbol of federation, rising above his political affiliations strictly in accordance with the Constitution and democratic norms," he added.

Nawaz said the win of Zardari would pave the way for many democratic reforms, which were otherwise impossible in the presence of a dictator.

He appealed to Zardari for restoring the deposed judges, including deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to the position of pre-November 3, 2007 for eliminating the illegal steps of a dictator.

He was hopeful that every section of ìCharter of Democracyî would be implemented.

He said it was not simply a matter of abolishing 58(2) b but scrapping all those steps, including the 17th Amendment and implementing agreed constitutional reforms, which were pledged in the Charter of Democracy.

He assured Zardari of his complete support for strengthening democracy.

Meanwhile, the PML-N parliamentarians have termed the victory of Zardari the success of democratic process and urged him to implement the Charter of Democracy.

The PML-N parliamentarians reacted cautiously on Zardari's victory and avoided giving any conflicting statements.

PML-N Central Secretary Zafar Iqbal Jhagra while talking to The News congratulated Zardari on becoming president.

He said with the election of the president's office, the parliament had been completed because the president was part of the parliament. He demanded of Zardari to adopt a clear policy on the war on terror.

PML-N Vice-President Zafar Ali Shah said the president would have to bring changes in the internal and foreign policies of the country.

Muhammad Anis adds from Islamabad: The PML-N said the newly-elected President, Asif Zardari, should resign as the PPP's co-chairman and member of the party to maintain the non-partisan and non-political status of the constitutional office of the president.

Talking to The News, PML-N Central Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said under the Article 41 of the Constitution, the president was a symbol of the federation and a non-political personality, while the prime minister was a political personality and the chief executive of the country.

Ahsan said since the 1973 Constitution was made, it had been a tradition that every president after his election resigned from the basic membership of his party so that he could act as a symbol of the federation.

"We hope that Zardari would quit as the PPP co-chairman and its (the partyís) membership as well," the PML-N leader said.

"After being elected, former presidents Farooq Leghari, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Rafiq Tarar also resigned from their party memberships," he added.

He reiterated that the prime minister and the chief ministers were political personalities while the presidency, according to the Constitution, was a non-partisan and non-political slot.

"If Zardari does not keep this tradition, there will be dichotomy between the slots of the prime minister and the president," he added.

Responding to a question, Ahsan said the results of the presidential election proved that the PML-N enjoyed huge majority in the Punjab Assembly and as such, it was its right to rule the province.

"We accept the PPP mandate at the Centre and they should respect our mandate in the Punjab," he added.

Sindh jubilant over Zardari’s election

HYDERABAD: Rallies were taken out across the province on Saturday to celebrate the election of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as the president of Pakistan.

Workers and activists of the PPP were seen jubilant over the historic success of Zardari.

Charged PPP workers belonging to different wings, including women, labour and mother wings, came on streets soon after the announcement of the result of the presidential election.

They termed it the result of the sacrifices rendered by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

PPP Hyderabad President Amanullah Siyal and others took out a rally here to celebrate the election of Zardari and chanted slogans in favour of Benazir Bhutto and Zardari.

The PPP workers danced on the occasion and greeted each other.

Speaking on the occasion, the PPP leaders said Zardari would strengthen the democratic system in the country.

They congratulated the PPP co-chairman for being elected as the president with a thumping majority.

They said Zardari would work for the supremacy of parliament and the Constitution.

Different small rallies were also taken out in the city while sweets were distributed and fireworks displayed late on Saturday night to celebrate the success of Zardari in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Bar Council and the Hyderabad District Bar Association also celebrated the victory of Zardari and sweets were distributed after the news of his victory went on air.

SHC member Fazal Qadir Memon, district bar leaders Bashir Gujjar, Khaliq Leghari and others termed the victory of Zardari the success of the mission of Benazir Bhutto and hoped that the problems of the people would be resolved soon.

Businessmen welcome Zardari’s win

LAHORE: Businessmen hope that President Asif Ali Zardari brings in a capable team of economic managers and revives the country's economy.

Muhammad Ali Mian, the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that businessmen wanted to give democracy a chance. He said all parties had accepted Asif as the president and businessmen hoped that he would improve the macro economic indicators deteriorating with every passing moment. He said the country was passing through the most turbulent period in its history.

Mian Abuzar Shad, the former chairman of the Pakistan Industrial Traders Association Front, said that although never proven guilty, Asif had a reputation that he would have to prove wrong by ensuring full transparency in the government's economic affairs.

Naeem Ahmad Khan, the former chairman Lahore Stock Exchange, said: “We should respect the mandate of the electorate as representatives of the nation had elected Asif.”

Adil Butt, a leading knitwear exporter and former chairman of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, said the present government had taken some extremely unpopular steps that were necessary to keep the budget deficit down. He said Asif as the president of the country and head of the ruling party should focus on reviving the sagging economy. He said businessmen would cooperate with the government in following all merit-based transparent policies that Asif would formulate to revive the economy.

Zardari to be fourth president from PPP

LAHORE: Asif Ali Zardari will take oath as the fourth president of the country from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) after winning the presidential vote with a big margin.

Prior to him, the PPP held the Presidency for three times in the history of the country. PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the first president from the PPP, followed by Fazal Elahi Chaudhry and Farooq Leghari.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto assumed the office of the president on December 20, 1971. The power was handed over to him by Gen Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, then the president of the country, following the disintegration of East Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto served as the president till August 1973 when Chaudhry Fazal Elahi replaced him as the president. Bhutto became the prime minister, following the 1973 Constitution. Chaudhry Fazal Elahi, the second PPP-backed president, held the office from August 1973 to September 1978. His tenure ended after Gen Ziaul Haq declared him as the president in 1978 after toppling Bhutto's government.

After a lapse of 15 years, Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was sworn in as the third president from the PPP on November 14, 1993, when the PPP won the general elections and Benazir Bhutto became the new prime minister of the country for the second time. However, the decision of nominating Farooq Leghari as president proved wrong as he dismissed his own partyís government in November 1996.

After a military coup against Nawaz government in 1999, there came an eight-year-long rule of Gen Pervez Musharraf, who didn't allow exiled political leaders, including Benazir and Nawaz Sharif, to return to the country till 2007.

Soon after Musharrafís resignation, the PPP nominated Asif Ali Zardari as its presidential candidate, who made history when he won the presidential vote. He will be the fourth president who will represent the PPP in the presidency.

No upsets in presidential election

ISLAMABAD: There was no major upset or surprise in the presidential election that precisely produced a widely predicted result.

Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the president of Pakistan with huge mandate, reserved only for some of his predecessors; Nawaz Sharif's League stood like a rock, intact; and the PML-Q shattered with its MPs racing towards the PPP or the PML-N for greener pastures. It was all anticipated and forecast.

The election was a clear walkover for Zardari everywhere except the Punjab Assembly where the PML-N proved that its provincial government enjoyed the majority and that it was in a position to withstand any federal onslaught to oust it.

The main reason behind the lukewarm campaign of the PML-N was that it did not want to resort to any measure that would have coloured its strategy and policy of doing only clean politics even when stakes were very high. In no way, the PML-N wanted to create bad blood because of any negative campaigning against Zardari. Additionally, it was aware that Zardari would win come what may due to his numerical superiority. It rather focused on the Punjab so that its support in the provincial assembly did not slip away even slightly.

By demonstrating a clear majority (15 votes more than the minimum required tally of 186) in the Punjab Assembly, the PML-N finally nailed the consistent efforts of Governor Salmaan Taseer and Federal Adviser Manzoor Wattoo. Their scheme to secure a simple majority in the provincial assembly for Zardari with a view to put the Shahbaz Sharif government under tremendous moral pressure to bow out failed to materialise.

Their oft-repeated slogan that the PPP was not withdrawing its ministers from the Punjab cabinet, despite being asked by the PML off and on, to avert the fall of the Shahbaz Sharif government holds no water as the provincial set-up has proved that it enjoys majority without the PPP support. Taseer and Wattoo may get dressing down from President Zardari for their poor performance. They could not make any inroads in the PML-N.

However, through their campaign, they succeeded to check any likely defections from their own party.

More than 50 per cent of the PML-Q parliamentary party in the National Assembly and the Senate defected. It has a total of 89 MPs -- 51 in the lower house and 38 in the upper house. Its nominee Mushahid Hussain Sayed secured only 34 votes, which means 55 PML-Q MPs switched sides. A predominant majority of them supported Zardari while the remaining lot voted for PML-N candidate Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui.

The large-scale defections from the PML-Q in the Senate deprived it of its status of being the single largest party in the upper house. As a result, the incumbent Senate chairman no more enjoys majority to sustain in office.

All the component parties of the ruling coalition religiously fulfilled their commitment with their senior partner, the PPP, and voted for its nominee. Zardari's total votes show that the tribal areas MPs also supported him en bloc. Even Pir Pagara's Functional League, which initially was reluctant, finally voted for Zardari mainly because he belonged to Sindh.

The universal vote for the PPP chief came from his native Sindh where his two main rivals bagged not even a single vote in the provincial assembly.

It is clear from the final vote in the Sindh legislature that all the nine PML-Q MPAs supported Zardari.

The massive vote, 281, which Zardari got, did not form a two-thirds majority in the joint session of parliament. As many as 295 votes make the two-thirds in both the houses meeting together. Zardari may not be in a position again to secure such a large number of votes in the joint session because at the moment, he is at the height of his popularity.

This tally of 281 further showed that the ruling coalition did not have the mandatory two-thirds majority separately in the National Assembly and the Senate to approve a constitutional amendment. However, if the PML-N decides to stand with the government to amend the Constitution, a two-thirds majority would not be a problem in any parliamentary chamber.

Landslide redefined

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly unanimously elected Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari as the president of the country. The Pakistan Muslim League — Quaid (PML-Q) candidate, Mushahid Hussain Syed, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate, Justice (Retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi, did not get any votes in the Sindh Assembly.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and opposition leader Jam Madad Ali said that the province had set a new tradition in the political history of the country.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice (who was also the Returning Officer), Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, announced the result and said that Zardari secured all 63 votes and 162 out of 163 members exercised their right to vote while one vote was rejected. Sindh Minister Nadir Magsi and Dr Muhammad Ali Shah of the MQM, and PML-Q leader Arbab Rahim could not cast their votes.

Eight Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and PML-Q members voted for Zardari at the last moment and the PPP and its allied parties welcomed them by thumping their desks.

Two PPP members who were ill, Ruqayya Khanum Soomro and Mohsin Shah, were brought from London where they were under treatment while Shama Mithani returned from Canada at the last moment. Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani reportedly phoned PML-F chief Pir Pagaro and got him to agree to vote for the PPP candidate. All eight PML-F MPAs reached the assembly just 15 minutes before the end of polling time. Two PML-Q members belonging to the Arbab Rahim group, Razzaque Rahimo and Arbab Zulfiqar, also came along with PML-F members and voted for Zardari.

The assembly building echoed with slogans such as ‘Zinda Hai BB’ (BB lives) and ‘Zardari Sab Per Bhari’ (Zardari prevails over all others), chanted by PPP members and leaders.

US Consul-General K. Anskey also observed the election in the assembly but evaded answers when journalists asked her if she had come to influence the voters. The US diplomat said she just came to see the election process at the invitation of the Sindh Governor.

Despite the fact that back door efforts to convince the PML-F and Q League members was going on, the PPP members were shouted ‘Shame, Shame’ when the name of former chief minister Arbab Rahim name was called by the Presiding Officer for the vote.

Sindh Minister Agha Siraj Durrani brought the female PML-Q MPA, Nuzhat Pathan, who changed her loyalty in the last assembly, quit the PPP and joined the PML-Q. She again loyalties again on Saturday and voted for Zardari.

Three of Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi’s National People’s Party (NPP) members also voted for Zardari as promised in an earlier meeting with Zardari’s sister, Faryal Talpur.

After the result was announced the Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said the Sindh Assembly result proved that Zardari was the most suitable and competent candidate for the office of the President. He thanked Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagaro, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, and Jam Madad for nominating Zardari. He also thanked the PML-Q members for refusing Chaudhry Shujaat and voting for Zardari.

Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain congratulated Zardari on Saturday on his overwhelming victory in the presidential elections.

He also congratulated leaders and workers of the PPP and other parties and the people of Pakistan on the victory of Zardari- a joint candidate of the PPP, the MQM, and other coalition partners.

He said that reposing confidence in Zardari by the elected members was a good for Pakistan and hoped that the newly elected president would now use his experience and potential for the progress and prosperity of the country and well being of the people.

Pagaro thanked for supporting Zardari

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan appreciated the fact that Pakistan Muslim League — Functional (PML-F) President Pir Pagaro voted for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the Presidential candidate on Zardari. Khan was speaking during a visit to the Karachi Race Club (KRC) where he met Pagaro.

The governor said that he had been nominated by Zardari to ensure that no injustice was done with anyone in Sindh. Past differences should be forgotten, and one should look forward for taking steps for the development of the country, Khan said.

Later, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah along with his cabinet visited the KRC to thank Pagaro for voting for Zardari. Shah promised brotherly and cordial relations with all political forces in the province and country.

Earlier, MQM founder Altaf Hussain also called Pagaro on Saturday and thanked him for voting for Zardari in the presidential elections.