March 20, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 30, 1428

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MARDAN, March 19: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has urged political parties to wage a joint struggle to save vital state institutions from collapse, and called upon people to come out on streets to save the country.

In a telephonic address to participants of a mini multi-party conference held here on Monday, Mr Sharif said that it was the responsibility of political parties to save the country from disintegration in the face of deepening crisis.

The meeting was held at the residence of PML-N’s senior vice-president Saranjam Khan was attended by leaders of PPP, ANP, JI, JUP (Noorani), JUI-S, and others.

Mr Sharif termed the action against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court illegal and unconstitutional and said it was the worst-ever crisis faced by the country, adding that national institutions were passing through the most critical phase of their history.

Meanwhile, he praised the judges who resigned on Monday in support of the Chief Justice.

In a statement released here on Monday from PML-N’s international headquarters, Mr Sharif said that the conscientious decision of the judges to protest the emasculation of the judiciary by a military ruler would provide impetus to the ongoing struggle for establishing the rule of law.

The PML-N leader said that these honourable judges had demonstrated to the world that Pakistan still had people who could stand up to injustice and this provided real hope for the future