January 9, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 8, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 8: With in six years of the Musharraf rule, the harmony brought to the country through a democratic process has now evaporated and the time is not far away when the Establishment would no more be able to resist the return of popular political leadership. This was the observed by PML-N Secretary General and a former Sindh governor Mamnoon Hussain while talking to Dawn here on Saturday.

“For us, the worst is almost over,” he remarked, and expressed the confidence that “the popular leadership will be among us soon and lead the masses to an egalitarian society in the country.”

Such a society’s foundation, he said, would be laid on the principles of justice for all, which would be an illusion if the society was denied full liberty to play its role.” He said that this was the main reason that the PML-N leadership had refused to indulge in any deal with the present regime. They party did not intend to do so in future also, he said, adding that the country had already suffered a lot due to the short-terms interests of the politician who appeared ready to cooperate with the man in uniform in order to enter the power corridors.

The former governor was of the view that the country could be put on the road to democracy and development only when its politicians had supremacy in the country’s affairs and the judiciary functioned independently.

He dispelled the impression that Mian Nawaz Sharif was leaving Saudi Arabia for good after having been issued the British visa, pointing out that he would be shuttling between Saudi Arabia and Britain as one of his sons, Hussain Nawaz, was setting up a steel re-rolling factory in Saudi Arabia and the same was about to start functioning.

Regarding the inordinate delay in the issuance of British visa to Mian Nawaz Sharif’s family, Mr Hussain said that it was caused by the different categories of visas, and denied the rumours that Mr Sharif had been asked to submit some sort of undertaking that he would not indulge in any political activity during his stay in London.

He clarified that as far as Mian Nawaz Sharif and his immediate family were concerned, they had not confronted with any problem, but the delay was caused as his other family members and servants fell in different categories of visa and the process had to be completed by the British mission in Pakistan.

In reply to a question Mr Hussain said that although Hasan Nawaz was getting well after receiving treatment in London, he needed to be looked after by his family members, who would soon be there.