ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: Buoyed by Saturday’s victory in the presidential election, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said on Sunday that the agreement with the PPP on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) had been of huge benefit to the ruling coalition.

Chaudhry Shujaat said: “The PPP played games with us and we played our game which we won – ‘raat gai baat gai’. If the higher judiciary strikes off the NRO, we have no obligation to renew it or bring any other law in its place.”

Addressing a news conference along with Chaudhry Shujaat and some ministers at the Prime Minister’s House, Mr Aziz said: “It was a success of government’s policy that opposition parties were sharply divided on various issues, particularly on the presidential election.”

He claimed that the government had created a split in the ranks of the opposition by promulgating the NRO on the eve of the presidential election, and as a result the election was held in a peaceful manner.

Chaudhry Shujaat said: “We are no more in a political deal with the PPP, or with any other party, nor we have entered into any deal with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The PPP was engaged in a game with us and we played our cards in a better manner and won the last round.”

The prime minister said the promulgation of the NRO was a difficult decision. It faced stiff opposition within the ruling party, but after discussions the party supported it. “Yes, there were some differences in the PML over the ordinance, but it was normal, being part of the democratic culture,” he told a questioner.

Mr Aziz, however, said that there were a number of positive aspects of the ordinance.

Sources said the PML lawmakers had been assured by legal experts in a late-night party meeting that the promulgation of the ordinance would be a temporary move which would be politically beneficial in the presidential election, and would not have to be necessarily implemented.

The prime minister said the government was working to promote political reconciliation in the country and one of the objectives of the NRO was to create a better political atmosphere. He said the government had been in touch with all politics parties.

Chaudhry Shujaat categorically stated that the real objective of the NRO was to derive political benefits and “we succeeded”.

He said the PPP would be a real adversary of the ruling PML and its allies in the general election.

Mr Aziz said that assemblies would complete their term and a caretaker government would be in place to hold the elections. He added that the PML would contest the elections with its present allies. He said the re-election of Gen Musharraf would ensure continuity of policies. He said the government was determined to eradicate corruption. “Our philosophy is to ensure good governance and transparency by eliminating the root cause of corruption.”

When asked about a possible deal with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on his expected return to the country after Eid, Mr Aziz said the government had no reports about his return.

Earlier, Chaudhry Shujaat, Population Welfare Minister Shahbaz Hussain, Women Development and Youth Affairs Minister Sumaira Malik, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani and Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem met Mr Aziz at the Prime Minister’s House and discussed with him the prevailing political situation and future line of action.

“We discussed the political situation and presidential election and expressed satisfaction over the successful completion of the election which is a victory for the ruling party,” Mr Aziz told the press conference.