Former prime minister and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said his party would not allow Pervez Musharraf to get his actions validated by parliament. “We will fight inside and outside parliament to block Musharraf from getting his acts indemnified,” Nawaz Sharif said while talking to senior journalists and columnists here.
“We are going to contest the general elections despite the regime’s rigging plans just to stop Pervez Musharraf’s allies from winning two-thirds majority, which they need to indemnify his November 3 unconstitutional steps,” he said.
Flanked by PML-N leaders Raja Zafarul Haq, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former prime minister also vowed to foil what he called ‘the regime’s rigging plans to benefit the King’s party’.
Insisting that Pervez Musharraf was holding his office unconstitutionally, Nawaz Sharif said: “We are going into the February 18 elections under protest despite large-scale rigging plans of the government.” He said it would be insult to 160 million people of Pakistan to work with Musharraf or indemnify his acts.
Nawaz Sharif demanded resignation of Musharraf, a neutral caretaker set-up and an independent Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections. “It is a fact that transparent and fair elections under Musharraf are not possible,” he said.
He said the caretaker set-up was an extension of the PML-Q rule and their Speaker was now functioning as Acting President while Musharraf himself was supporting the PML-Q. Nawaz Sharif, however, said he still believed the opposition could have forced Musharraf out of power by unanimous boycott of the elections but unfortunately the opposition could not develop consensus despite his efforts. “On one occasion, I had even convinced Benazir Bhutto to boycott the elections but the suggestion could not materialise,” he said.
Nawaz also accused Musharraf of compromising the country’s sovereignty just to prolong his own rule. He said he was not against the United States or any Western country and wanted better relations with them but not at the cost of the country’s sovereignty.
The PML-N leader also reiterated the demand for the restoration of judiciary to the pre-November 3 status and an end to the military’s role in politics. “The time has come to end the role of Army in politics as it is playing havoc with the country,” he said.
He said the generals had destroyed the institution of Army through their continuous role in politics. “The sovereignty of Pakistan and the safety of our nuclear assets is under question today because of the continuous military interventions,” he said.
Nawaz said the military’s interference in politics had changed the face of the Constitution; national institutions have become non-functional, the judiciary made handicapped and judges put under house arrest. “One individual has made the whole country his hostage,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif also condemned the law and order situation in the country, saying in such an atmosphere, the political parties were not able to campaign for the elections. He said there was unrest in Balochistan due to military operation there and in Sindh following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
He also referred to the wheat, gas and electricity crises which, he said, have endangered the country’s economy due to the wrong policies of the Musharraf regime. On the ongoing military operation in the tribal areas, Nawaz Sharif said he was against terrorism in all its forms. “We have to tackle this sensitive issue in our own way which can only be done by a democratic government with the power of the people,” he said.
He said time has come when every detail of the defence budget will be discussed on the floor of the parliament because military is a subordinate institution of the Ministry of Defence. “The role of the Army should remain within the ambit of the Constitution,” he maintained.