Pakistan PM denies martial law speculation

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 10 (UPI) -- Pakistan's prime minister Sunday dismissed the idea of imposing martial law in the strife-torn country once again.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told reporters in Lahore that those days were over and denied there were any plans for putting the military in charge of the country.

"There is no room for martial law in Pakistan," Gilani said.

The Express Tribune said Gilani used a Sunday news conference to paint a picture of a government that respected the law and has been making strides in foreign trade and electrification of the countryside.

Gilani also said the national government was also making progress to expand political freedoms in Pakistan's remote semi-autonomous tribal regions and had enacted legislation empowering women and labor that he called "unprecedented in the history of Pakistan."