KARACHI, Oct 12: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sindh chapter president, Syed Ghous Ali Shah, has stressed the need for unity among political parties, saying that the country’s survival depends on democracy.

He was speaking to the party workers and supporters at the PML House to mark the Democracy Defence Day on Sunday.

Mr Shah pointed out that military takeovers had always put the nation in trouble. Even today’s hardships and grave issues like suicide bombing, sky-rocketing prices and failing economy were the outcome of the military rule that overthrew an elected democratic government on Oct 12, 1999, he added. He also recalled that Pakistan was disintegrated during a military dictatorship.

He urged all political parties to unite on a one-point agenda of democracy, as democratic dispensation was the only discourse through which a nation could make progress. “Whatever problems the nation faced today can be overcome only if the Pakistan People’s Party respects PML-N’s mandate,” he said, adding that political parties were the bastions of power in any country.

Rafique Butt, a party leader, said that those who were talking about giving a safe passage to the retired general, Pervez Musharraf, were neither sincere with the nation nor with the country. General Musharraf had violated the constitution and as such should be tried in an open court under Article 6 of the constitution to close the door of dictatorship for good, he added.

Sardar Rahim said true democracy did not exist in the country even at present. “True democracy can only be restored by organising ourselves to face the world pressure,” he stressed.

Salim Zia, Makhdoom Shahnawaz, Khawaja Tariq Nazeer and others also spoke.