September 11, 2007	Tuesday	Sha'aban 28, 1428

PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The Pakhtunkhawa National Democratic Alliance has criticized what it called the forcible deportation of Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to Saudia Arabia and said that this ‘ugly incident’ showed that the country was no more a sovereign state.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, a central leader of the PNDA, said that the ‘dictatorial’ move showed that Gen Pervez Musharraf had forcibly deported Mian Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia in the past.

He said Mr Sharif had never been willing to leave the country but it was military rulers who had compelled him to go into exile.

ANP central vice-president Haji Mohammad Adeel, ANP provincial chief Bashir Ahmed Bilour, PMAP provincial chief Mukhtiar Khan Yousufzai, Dr Said Alam Khan Mehsud and others were also present on the occasion.Haji Bilour said that the APDM would hold a protest meeting at the historic Chowk Yadgar at 3pm on Tuesday to denounce the deportation of Mr Sharif.In the evening, he said, the APDM components parties would hold a meeting and discuss the future line of action.

He said the deportation of Nawaz Sharif, the two-time former prime minister of Pakistan, was a case of contempt of court, because the Supreme Court had allowed Mr Sharif’s unhindered arrival and stay in the country. He said it was ‘unconstitutional, unlawful and immoral’ to deport Mr Sharif after the verdict of the apex court.He said Gen Musharraf, through his arbitrary moves, had proved that parliament and judiciary had no role to play in important national issues.

He claimed that the military dictator had changed the order of his own dictum from Pakistan First to Musharraf First. He said Gen Musharraf had taken this ugly decision to secure his ‘unconstitutional’ rule in the country.He said the military rulers had cut off Punjab from the rest of the country by placing containers on entry and exit points of the province.

He said detention of parties’ heads and arrest of workers had exposed the enlightened moderation of the rulers. He said it showed that there was no democracy in the country.

Mr Bilour said they could not trust the military rulers as they would not hold free, fair and transparent elections in the country.