June 28, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 23, 1429

LAHORE, June 27: The PML-N on Friday observed a black day in the city to protest disqualification of party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif to contest polls.

Several rallies of the party activists, including MNAs and MPAs, started reaching Regal Chowk on The Mall, blocking it to traffic in the evening where a public meeting was held after sunset.

The participants, including lawyers, were carrying portraits of their leader and placards inscribed with slogans against President Musharraf and PCO judges. Some of the them were: “Qadam barhao Nawaz Sharif hum tumharay saath hain”, “PCO judges namanzoor”, and “Masharraf ka jo yaar hae

ghaddar hae ghaddar hae”. They also torched effigies of Musharraf.

Speaking to the protesters, MNA Khwaja Saad Rafiq alleged that the PCO judges allowed a serving army general to contest polls to save their jobs while they were disallowing a political leader to contest the polls who was representing the voice of 160 million people.

He said the PCO judges should not become a hurdle in the way of the Feb 18 mandate of the masses.

Criticising President Musharraf for saying that he would not give in to political pressure, Saad said he would have to because his (the president’s) policies had given a bloodbath to the Frontier province.

Recalling that Nawaz Sharif while in exile had assembled all nationalist parties on a single platform, the PML-N leader alleged that Musharraf instead gave a licence to kill to ‘terrorist’ Altaf Husain in Karachi.

He warned the allies in the ruling coalition against wasting the sacrifices offered by the masses for democracy and free judiciary by delaying restoration of the deposed judges and impeachment of President Musharraf.

He asserted that if Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif advanced towards the presidency jointly, Musharraf would be left with no choice but to bow out.

MNA Hamza Shahbaz recalled that his uncle, Nawaz, did not compromise when Gen Musharraf ousted his government having two-thirds majority and accepted exile instead of striking any deal with the army dictator.

He also recalled that Nawaz also did not bow to Gen Musharraf’s pressure when the former prime minister was barred from attending last rituals of his father, Mian Sharif, in Lahore. Hamza said his uncle would not compromise even on the issue of the PCO judges.