LONDON, Jan 21: There is a strong possibility that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will return to the country in time to take part in the next elections.

This was stated by joint secretary and spokesman for the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Nadir Chaudhry while addressing a press conference here.

Doubting the transparency and fairness of the forthcoming polls, he said that government’s desire to get Gen Pervez Musharraf re-elected by the sitting assemblies should serve as an eye-opener.

Terming the president’s public campaigning on behalf of the ruling PML unwarranted and uncalled for, he criticised the government for moves aimed at restricting print and electronic media’s freedom. Citing murders and abductions of several journalists of Urdu and regional language dailies, he said that Dawn was already reeling under extraordinary restrictive and discriminatory government policies.

Referring to Benazir Bhutto’s participation in the forthcoming APC, he said that the People’s Party’s executive committee had expressed its solidarity with the national struggle for democracy and it had also termed the APC ‘a positive and conducive step’. He said it had also made “some positive recommendations”, which would be “revealed after they had been officially received”.

He said that Nawaz Sharif had invited all parties involved in the struggle for democracy against the “regime of President Gen Musharraf and had received positive response from them”.—Online