Asia-Pacific

Pakistan's opposition party says will not dislodge govt

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-04 20:10

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's main opposition party decided on Tuesday that it would not help anyone to topple the government and move no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister who has lost majority in the parliament.

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The party said that it would not help the Mutahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) and Jamiat ulema-e-Islam (JUI) against the government, according to local media reports.

The government of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) reduced to a minority after the MQM pulled out of the coalition on Sunday over increase in the petroleum prices, government's "inaction" to check corruption and its refusal to levy tax on big landlords.

Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N, said his party would not join in the race for power, local TV Express reported.

Gilani had been struggling to woo the main opposition groups to support him to save his coalition government.  

On Monday he met leader of the main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province, in the eastern city of Lahore and sought his support.

The PML-N called an emergency meeting of senior leaders on Tuesday to weigh options and reports said that the meeting decided not to dislodge the government.