PESHAWAR, Dec 17: Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif has said that he will return to the country before the general elections and nobody can deport him. Speaking to workers of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) at the home of party leader Arbab Khizar Hayat Khan via telephone from London on Sunday, the former prime minister said the rulers were afraid of his return as was evident from their statements to the effect that he would not be allowed to come to the country.
“I will return before the general elections. Nobody can stop me. My party will contest the elections from every constituency in the country, especially the NWFP,” he said.
He said President Pervez Musharraf “knows that his illegitimate rule will end on my return to the country because the masses are with me”.
The PML-N chief said the decision to resign from parliament would be taken unanimously by all the opposition parties and it would be used as last resort to remove Gen Musharraf.We look forward to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal playing its role in agitation against President Musharraf despite its support to him in the passage of the 17th Constitutional Amendment, he said.
“Military intervention is the root cause of the country’s problems and all the opposition parties should get united to wage a struggle from a platform to stamp it out for ever,” he said.
The former prime minister said the opposition parties were coming closer to each other and a move by any of them which went against this aim would amount to treachery with the people.
He urged the opposition parties to refrain from striking a deal with the government and strive for the formation of a grand alliance for removal of the government.
Mr Sharif accused the government of compromising on Kashmir with India and warned that such efforts would be foiled.
“Pakistan’s military dictators have harmed the country’s interests more than the Indian army. Four army generals in the National Security Council are taking important decisions about the masses,” he lamented.
He alleged that the military intelligence agencies had been tasked to harass the opposition leaders.
