August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

LAHORE, Aug 14: PML-N chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that Kashmir was not an internal affair of India because it was a dispute between India and Pakistan.

Addressing his supporters after laying a floral wreath at the mausoleum of the Poet of the East, Dr Allama Iqbal, on Thursday, he said India must end atrocities against innocent Kashmiris and give them their right to franchise as enshrined in UN resolutions.

He claimed that President Pervez Musharraf’s impeachment was not to avenge the ouster of his government and sending him and his family into exile.

He said it was a national issue to curb conspiracies against democracy and shut the door on future military dictators.

He said the impeachment motion should have been tabled in parliament four months ago.

He regretted that the country had remained under dictatorships for 33 years of its independence.

He said the Muslims of the subcontinent, under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, had won the freedom from the British, but they were later enslaved by their own people.

Referring to the issue of judges, Mr Sharif said the best course was to reinstate the deposed judges on the day Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced their release.

AFP adds: Rejecting President Musharraf’s call for reconciliation, Mr Sharif said the president would have to go.

“There is no safe passage for him now,” the PML-N chief said, referring to suggestions that Mr Musharraf could be allowed to go into exile to avoid possible criminal charges.

“He wants safe passage after breaking the law. He wants safe passage after violating the constitution. He wants safe passage after bargaining our sovereignty,” Mr Sharif wondered .