ISLAMABAD, May 29: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani surprised his critics on Tuesday when he visited the residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and met him in an apparent bid to gain his support in the budget session. The visit came after the refusal by Maulana Fazl to stay away from official briefings on budget estimates.

Talking to Dawn after the brief meeting, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said: `The prime minister telephoned me several times for meeting him to participate in the briefings on the next year`s budget, but I declined his invitation.

The Maulana said he had not given any assurance to the prime minister whether his party would support or not the new budget as it would make a decision only after the budgetary outlay was made public.

He, however, reiterated his stance about the speaker`s ruling on Mr Gilani`s conviction. `In my opinion the speaker is a part of the judicial system and we need to respect her ruling and as long as a Supreme Court judgment does not come, we should not discuss it.

He said: `The prime minister thanked me for my principled stand on Speaker`s ruling and promised to fulfil my demands with regard to funding of Chashma Right Bank canal and Tank Zam projects.