Pakistani American body, EU hails new PM
'Pakistan Times' US Bureau

WASHINGTON (US): Pakistani American Leadership Center, an advocacy organization working on the Capitol Hill, has congratulated Yousaf Raza Gilani and the Pakistani nation on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

“The election of Gilani unequivocally establishes that Pakistan is now once again a strong and stable democracy that reflects the will of its people,” said the organization, which helped establish Congressional Pakistani Caucus in 2004.

The PAL-C also welcomed the new prime minister’s decision on release of the detained judges and said it “supports the movement for the return of an independent, fully functioning judiciary as a necessary institution to uphold the rule of law in Pakistan.”

In the coming days, it hoped, the new parliament under the leadership of Prime Minister Gilani will be able to provide and implement a coherent strategy for addressing the security and economic concerns of the nation.

“We wish the new government and the people of Pakistan the greatest of success.”

EU Welcomes

Meanwhile a report from Brussels says that European Union has termed the election of new prime minister in Pakistan an important step for democracy in the country and welcomed the order to release the detained judges.

This has been said in a statement issued from the European Union's presidency in Brussels that the appointment of the prime minister is an important step in the development of democracy, stability and security in Pakistan.

In response to the move, the EU's presidency also said that it welcomes the release of judges detained under the recent emergency rule and that the step by the newly-elected prime minister, Makhdoom Yousuf Raza Gillani marks a positive move towards the restoration of rule of law in Pakistan.●