Pakistan's prime minister said Sunday in an Associated Press interview he expects President Pervez Musharraf to secure another five years in office. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz projected an air of confidence for the government and Musharraf's leadership, playing down signs of a spread in Islamic extremism in the country and predicting this will be the first parliament in Pakistan's history to finish its full five-year term. Aziz said the country has been going through a period of economic growth and now has record reserves of US$15 billion (¤11.2 billion). «The whole nation hopes, and I'm sure President Musharraf wants, to stand for re-election. We are very sure he will contest and he will be elected for another term,» said Aziz. In the interview, Aziz went out of his way to defend the government . «We believe in freedom of the press. The government is very much at peace with itself so if people criticize us we welcome it as long as there is a code of conduct and norms of fair reporting are followed,» he said, but added the institution of the army should be spared unfair attacks.
