May 27, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429

LAHORE, May 26: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday accused President Pervez Musharraf of using PCO judges for his vested interests and said that he had been cleared to contest the National Assembly by-polls after an appeal filed against his candidacy had been withdrawn.

He told a press conference here that Ikhlaq Guddoo, one of the candidates contesting the NA-123 seat in Lahore had withdrawn his appeal in an election tribunal comprising judges of the Lahore High Court.

According to the Election Commission’s schedule, May 26 was the last day for challenging nominations.

Referring to a tape released by his party prior to his press conference, Mr Sharif accused President Musharraf and opposition leader Pervaiz Elahi with some judges of conspiring to stop him from entering parliament.

“Contrary to (President) Musharraf’s wishes, the nation wants to see me in parliament.”

He said President Musharraf was ‘using the PCO judges whose legitimacy is in doubt’.

He said people had ‘impeached Musharraf on Feb 18’ and now it needed only a formal process for which he was trying to persuade PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari.

Mr Sharif said that reinstatement of the deposed judges was the ‘only way to solve all national problems’, adding that his party would rejoin the federal cabinet only after the restoration of the judiciary in accordance with the Murree Declaration.

About the proposed constitutional package, he said he could not comment on it because his party had not received its draft. However, he said, his party would never slacken in its demand to restore the deposed judges.

He said that the constitutional package proposed by the PPP had neither been discussed at Murree nor in Dubai, adding that the issue had been taken up much later as a ‘second priority’ matter.

Mr Sharif asserted that his party would ‘never indemnify’ the Nov 3, 2007 actions of Gen Musharraf nor would it allow any court to do so.

When asked about his stance on the tenure of the Supreme Court chief justice, he said he would ‘stick to the politics of principles’, implying that he would not budge on the issue.

Mr Sharif announced that he was withdrawing his nomination papers from NA-52 in Rawalpindi.

Mr Sharif was accompanied by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Punjab Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood.

Shahbaz Sharif said that although the party did not recognise the PCO judges, the PML-N lawyers would decide if it would be right to appear before the election tribunal hearing objections to his nomination.

He said PML-Q’s Ikhlaq Guddoo had earlier told him that he was withdrawing his appeal against Mr Nawaz Sharif and his nomination papers out of respect for him.