NEW YORK - Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says he is willing to work with President Pervez Musharraf, but would let his party -- the PPP -- decide whether to try to force the president from office. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gilani said he would maintain a working relationship with  Musharraf for now. "I have no problem working with him, but will go by the party's decision," the prime minister said. Musharraf is facing mounting pressure from his political opponents to resign or face removal from office, the newspaper said, noting that earlier this week, the new government introduced measures designed to reduce the president's powers to dismiss the government and dissolve parliament. Gilani said further U.S. assistance "will help deliver a democracy dividend to the people" after Pakistan held landmark elections for a new parliament in February. In the interview, the prime minister also urged the U.S. to increase its economic and defence assistance to help strengthen his newly elected democratic government. Further aid, he added, is needed to help provide political and economic stability as the nation seeks to fight terrorism. Pakistan has received more than $11 billion from the U.S., most of which has gone to the military, since it joined the U.S.-led fight against terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the newspaper. Gilani didn't specify how much further assistance Pakistan is seeking. He made his case for further aid during a recent meeting in Egypt with President Bush. The prime minister said the use of military means alone to try to stamp out militancy from Pakistan's tribal areas would never bring peace. "We need to review our strategy to deal with the situation in the tribal region," he said. Western intelligence agencies contend that Pakistan's tribal region has become a major operating center for the al Qaeda terrorist organization and a launching pad for assaults on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's troops in neighbouring Afghanistan. The new government has taken a different tack in the battle against terrorism than that followed by  Musharraf, the dispatch said, noting that Gilani's government has been negotiating with militants and exchanging prisoners. Gilani said the government is talking only to the tribesmen who renounce violence and surrender their weapons. But U.S. and NATO officials argue that the peace deals have allowed militants time to regroup. The prime minister said Pakistani forces would remain deployed along the border. And he emphasized the need to increase the strength of Afghan troops on the Afghan side of the border, saying there is an inadequate force to protect against border crossings.