ISLAMABAD, Sept 16 Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani distanced himself on Wednesday from what has been described as a deal to provide 'safe exit' to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and said that he was neither aware of nor part of any such deal.

Talking to journalists at an Iftar dinner at the PM House, he said the presidency's spokesman already denied that President Asif Ali Zardari had made any statement about a deal reached with foreign players to give indemnity to Gen (retd) Musharraf, adding that as far as he was concerned he was not aware of any such deal.

The prime minister said that some parties which were part of the Musharraf regime were also in the present government while Article 6 of the Constitution would apply also to everyone who had abetted him and implemented his policies. It was for that reason that he had termed the demands of Musharraf's trial as 'not doable'.

Responding to a question about his own opinion on Musharraf's trial, Mr Gilani said he still believed that parliament alone could pardon him or try him under Article 6 which also applied to those who supported him. “How many political parties had lent a supporting hand to Musharraf throughout his rule and how many of them would be included in the trial?”

He said that even if a court handed down a punishment to anyone under Article 6, the president could pardon him.

The prime minister said that when he asked the political parties which were demanding Musharraf's trial 'to do what is doable' he meant that anything decided unanimously by parliament could help the government to initiate an inquiry and a trial. Otherwise, a crude attempt would only strengthen the former dictator, he added.

Mr Gilani said the government would soon present recommendations of the special committee on Balochistan to a joint session of parliament to achieve consensus on an incentive package for the province.

He said the recommendations prepared by the Raza Rabbani committee had been discussed by the PPP's central executive committee and approved by the president.

Commenting on Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's statement about mid-term polls in the event of government's failure to deliver, the prime minister said “Rest assured, we will improve our performance because the country cannot afford snap polls.”

When asked about the recent large-scale promotions and reshuffle in bureaucracy, he said that a few cases would have to be deferred for the next round.

However, he made it clear that he had acted on a list provided by the Central Selection Board.

Answering a question about government's intention to take cases of murder of Shahnawaz Bhutto, Murtaza Bhutto and Z.A. Bhutto to the United Nations for investigation, like the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, he said it was the desire of the late Benazir Bhutto that the party should go to the world body in case of any such incident.

He recalled that after the Karachi bomb explosion Ms Bhutto had expressed her desire that the PPP should go to the UN if such an incident happened in future.