President Pervez Musharraf on Friday said he will convene Pakistan's new Parliament within two weeks and promised to fully support the Pakistan Peoples' Party-led government.
"The national and provincial assemblies sessions will be called in a week or one and a half weeks," Musharraf said in his first public comments since the February 18 polls were won by his rivals.
The victorious parties have been demanding that the president summon the National Assembly so that they can elect their prime minister.
Speaking at the inauguration of a water supply scheme at Jacobabad in southern Sindh province, Musharraf noted that moderate forces had emerged victorious in the general election, especially in the North West Frontier Province.
"I will support the government. I hope the new governments at the centre and in the provinces will complete their five-year constitutional terms," he said.
Musharraf hoped the new government would continue his regime's economic policies and the campaign against extremism.
"I am happy that the extremists faced defeat and moderate forces emerged victorious in the elections, especially in the northwest. I hope they will end chaos and curb extremists and terrorists," he said.
"I want the struggle against terrorism and extremism to continue. If we cannot succeed on the economic front and in the fight against extremism and terrorism, (there will be) hurdles in the way of economic prosperity," Musharraf said.
"The country's economy is growing but I admit there are also difficulties. The new government must comprehend the problems and find solutions," he added.
Slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's PPP is set to form government at the centre with the backing of former premier Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Awami National Party, which draws its support from the ethnic Pashtun minority.
The three parties are marginally short of a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, having won a total of 223 seats in the 342-member National Assembly. The parties could reach the magic figure following polls to 10 seats that are yet to be held, following which, they could impeach the President and scrap his powers to dissolve the parliament.
Sharif has been insisting on Musharraf's resignation following the defeat of his supporters, including the PML-Q, in the elections, while PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the new parliament will decide the government's relationship with the President.
Musharraf rejected the impression that the elections were rigged, saying the whole world had said that the polls were fair, free, transparent and peaceful.
Referring to reports in the media about his resignation, Musharraf said some elements which 'do not care about the country and the people' were trying to create a misunderstanding.
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