FIRST PUBLIC EVENT ATTENDED BY NEW PM скачать в хорошем качестве

FIRST PUBLIC EVENT ATTENDED BY NEW PM

(24 Jun 2012) STORYLINE Pakistan wants to deal with the U.S. on an equal footing to keep "good relations" based on dignity and mutual respect, according to the Islamic nation's newly elected prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf. Speaking to journalists outside Mazar-e-Quaid, Pakistan's national mausoleum and the tomb of the country's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Sunday, Ashraf said that the decision on the reopening of NATO supply routes to the country will be taken "in the light of decisions made by the parliament." The visit was the first public event to be attended by the prime minister after his election on Friday. Ashraf was the second choice to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani who was dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier this week for refusing to initiate a corruption investigation against his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari. The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) then nominated outgoing textile minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, but he was hit on Thursday by an arrest warrant for his role in a drug import scandal. The warrant was issued by an anti-narcotics force run by the military, which has staged three coups in Pakistan's short history. The PPP and its coalition partners elected Ashraf as prime minister by a vote of 211 to 89. Ashraf's election is unlikely to reduce tensions among Pakistan's jostling power centres that are destabilising the nuclear-armed country, which is considered crucial to American hopes of winding down the war in neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistan and U.S. relations are currently at an all-time low. The U.S. accuses Pakistan of not going after insurgent groups operating in its tribal areas while Pakistan says the U.S. doesn't give it credit for the losses it has suffered fighting al-Qaida and other militants. Pakistan closed U.S. and NATO supply routes going through Pakistan into Afghanistan after American forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani troops on the border. Pakistan refuses to open the routes without an American apology. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...