国际英语新闻：Pakistani PM accepts opposition party's demands to avoid crisis

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani announced on Sunday the acceptance of a ten-point demand raised by a main opposition party in the country in order to avoid an imminent political crisis.

The announcement was made just one day before the deadline laid by the country's largest opposition party chief Nawaz Sharif becomes expired on Monday.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's office said that " PM telephoned Mian Nawaz Sharif, leader of PML (N) and conveyed a positive response to his ten points."

PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal confirmed the prime minister's call to Sharif and said that his party's deadline is no more effective as the prime minister has given a positive response.

Sharif has now convened meeting of his senior leaders to discuss the prime minister's announcement and chalk out future strategy, according to PML-N party's leader Siddiqul Farooq.

On Jan. 4, Nawaz Sharif, chief of Pakistan Muslim-League-N (PML- N), issued a 6-day ultimatum for the government to accept his party's demands in order to save it from being collapsed due to the loss of its simple majority in the parliament.

The ten-point demand raised by PML-N mainly includes withdrawal of hike in oil prices, formulating a proper regime for settling fuel, gas and power tariffs so that people are not burdened, putting an end to gas and power outages, stopping corruption and sacking government employees and ministers allegedly involved in graft.