A meeting of some federal ministers and senior leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in chair on Thursday decided to hold by-elections to all the vacant seats in the assemblies and completing all legal formalities for this purpose at the earliest.

The meeting held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr also decided to begin consultative process with coalition partners in the Parliament on the issue of formation of new provinces.

Appropriate legislative measures will soon be adopted in the Parliament for the carving out of Seraiki province in the light of consultations with political partners.

Those who were present during the meeting included Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Ch. Ahmed Mukhtar, Senator Rehman Malik, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Syed Naveed Qamar, Ms. Sherry Rehman, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Senator Sardar Ali Khan, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan, Ms. Rukhsana Bangash, Ms. Fouzia Habib and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar.

Briefing about the meeting Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that political and economic situation was discussed during the meeting.

The meeting hailed the Cabinet decision on Wednesday to support a private member bill that seeks to make it mandatory for all the public servants drawing their salary from the public exchequer to declare and make public details of their assets in the same manner as the parliamentarians do.

The meeting noted that in the past such initiatives were thwarted on flimsy grounds and decided to push through the proposed legislation with vigor and political determination.

Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting rejected the proposal mooted by some political circles for the setting up of military courts as undemocratic, uncalled for and undermining the civil and democratic institutions. The party will resist any such move, it said.

The meeting also welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement to lift ban on government jobs. Noting that the announcement was awaiting formalization, the meeting called upon the government to urgently issue appropriate notification to this effect so that the doors for recruitment in government departments could be opened.

The Prime Minister briefed the meeting on gas, electricity, sugar and fertilizer situation in the country.

Farhatullah Babar said that a committee led by Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain has been tasked to hold talks with stakeholders in Sindh to share some of the gas produced in Sindh with Punjab and submit its report.

Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting decided to hold dialogue with all political parties and leaders for strengthening democracy in the country and to take the country out of myriad of problems.

The Spokesperson said that as part of consultative process to take political parties on board on the issue of new provinces, President Zardari, also held a meeting with ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan. Current political situation and coalition matters were discussed during the meeting.