June 11, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 06, 1429

LAHORE, June 10: PML-N patron Nawaz Sharif is most likely to join the lawyers’ long march from Lahore, it is learnt.

At present Nawaz is in London to see his wife, Kulsoom, undergoing treatment there. But he is cutting short his visit and returning home on Wednesday (today).

Sources say a majority of party leaders believe that Nawaz should join the long march from Data Darbar on Thursday (tomorrow) where he is also scheduled to address the marchers. While others say he should receive the marchers in Islamabad.

A final decision in this regard will be announced on Wednesday morning, the sources say.

They say party president Shahbaz Sharif will not join the march for being chief executive of the province.

After the expiry of the second deadline, May 12, set for reinstatement of the deposed judges, he had told PPP co-chairperson Asif Zardari that he would ride ‘judicial bus’ to reach Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to ‘coordinate, supervise and monitor security and make arrangements regarding the long march.’

Headed by Punjab Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, the committee comprises MNAs Saad Rafiq and Mian Marghoob Ahmad, adviser to CM on law and order Jahanzaib Burki, IG Shaukat Javed and home secretary Nadeem Hasan Asif.

A maiden meeting of the committee held here on Tuesday discussed coordination among civil society, federal and provincial governments, as the case may be, regarding security arrangements for the participants.

Meanwhile, PML-N media coordinator Dr Asif Kirmani has asked President Musharraf to resign ‘in the larger interest of the nation’ before the long march reaches Islamabad.

In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, he warned that the situation had gone beyond ‘go Musharraf go’ and now people were chanting ‘get Musharraf get’, an obvious reference to the party’s demand for impeachment of the president.

He advised Gen (retired) Musharraf to resign and surrender before the court of law for abrogating the Constitution twice , ‘unlawfully’ imposing emergency and doling out national assets to his favourites in the name of privatisation.