LAHORE, Nov 27: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday assured the judiciary and media of his unflinching support and said that they were fighting for a national cause and Pakistan would become a failed state if they failed.
Talking to journalists who accompanied him to the residences of Justices Khawaja Sharif and Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Geo TV offices and later to the Lahore Press Club, he said he had come to Pakistan with the sole agenda of restoring the rule of law.
Accompanied by Shahbaz Sharif and former president Rafiq Tarar, he said that the judiciary and media were his natural allies because they had been fighting for the rule of law.
“The judiciary has sacrificed like never before,” he told newsmen at the residences of Justices Khawaja Sharif and Khalil Ramday. “The PML(N) will not accept anything less than the restoration of deposed judges and all of them must be restored to the Nov 2 position,” he said.
According to him, for the first time in the history of the country, majority of superior court judges had refused to take the oath of allegiance to Gen Pervez Musharraf and insisted on abiding by the Constitution. “This is unprecedented in Pakistan and all political forces must join hands with those fighting for the rule of law.”
Mr Sharif said there was
no point in taking part in elections and even becoming prime minister when the country was being ruled under emergency and the 17th amendment. “Though the election is the only way forward, they have to be fair, free and transparent. Unfortunately, chances of their being free and fair under the present circumstances are almost nil. It hardly makes sense to contest election with Gen Pervez Musharraf equipped with the 17th amendment, the caretaker set-up being remote-controlled and election commission being part of the problem rather than solution.”
Later, talking to the wife of Aitzaz Ahsan at her place, he said her husband was a national hero and respected by everyone. The PML(N) would not field any candidate against him as a mark of acknowledgement of his great sacrifices for the country. He could not meet Mr Ahsan as he was confined to the next room declared a sub-jail by the government. “The barrister is a national hero and a national candidate. The PML(N) owns and respects him as much as the PPP.”
At the Geo TV protest camp, the former prime minister said that the media would win the struggle for independence. “No dictator has last long enough to defeat the free spirit of a nation. I am here to express my solidarity with the media in general and the Geo Television in particular. The newsmen are fighting a war for Pakistan’s survival and the PML(N) will extend them an all-out support.”
