September 07, 2007	Friday	Sha'aban 24, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: The Pakistan Muslim League(N) is giving final touches to its plans to welcome former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif when they arrive here on Sept 10, and the party’s senior leaders have warned the government that any steps taken to obstruct the welcome would be strongly resisted.

“We don’t believe in civil war, but there will be resistance in every street of the country,” acting PML-N president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi told a news conference here on Thursday while referring to media reports that the government might arrest the brothers on their return.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, party’s secretary general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, information secretary Ahsan Iqbal and joint secretary Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal attended the press conference where a ruling PML(Q) parliamentarian from Lodhran, Akhtar Kanju, announced his decision to join the PML-N.

“We warn the rulers not to use force as the people will trample the hurdles down,” Mr Hashmi said.

He said that the Sharifs would be welcomed in Pakistan from the platform of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) which would be meeting in Islamabad on Friday to finalise the plan.

Mr Hashmi said that Nawaz Sharif was not afraid of jails as he had already spent 14 months in the notorious Attock Fort prison soon after the dismissal of his government in October 1999.

“It is possible that those intending to send him to jail might themselves be in jail before implementing their plans,” he said.