September 2, 2003	Tuesday	Rajab 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: The construction of JF-17 aircraft with Chinese participation is the successful completion of the project launched by the exiled prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, with the signing of the agreement with China in 1998.

Spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Siddiqul Farooq, said this on the occasion of test flight of the aircraft in a statement here on Monday.

He said the project was the part of Nawaz Sharif‘s far-sighted strategy to strengthen national defence, particularly the capability of Pakistan Air Force.

He said it was under that strategy that only three months later nuclear tests were conducted and Ghouri and Shaheen missiles were launched. These steps confirmed the former prime minister‘s resolve to make Pakistan‘s defence invincible, he added.

The spokesman recalled that while launching the motorway project, Nawaz Sharif had told the nation that it would be constructed in a way that the air force could use it as runway for its war planes in times of emergency.

Experimental landings were, therefore, made in 2002 on a stretch between Lahore and Gujrat, proving that the project was not from defence point of view.

He noted that the former premier had taken several other steps to strengthen national defence, including rise in the salaries of the armed forces. He said the results of these measures would gradually become evident.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz spokesman said the basic objective of Nawaz Sharif was that the armed forces should focus on performing their constitutional and Islamic duties, and must not get involved in national politics, which only impaired their efficiency.

He said past events and current situation amply prove that political involvement of the armed forces not only hurts national prestige but also may damage it geographical boundaries.