LONDON, March 15: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has appealed to the nation to participate in protests being held across Pakistan on Friday. In a statement issued here on Thursday, the PML-N chief said that the time had come for the people to ensure that those who dared to subjugate the judiciary were held accountable.

Mr Sharif said that after destroying the constitution and subjugating parliament, Gen Musharraf had now launched an attack on the institution responsible for providing justice to the people.

He said that the action against the chief justice had proven that the general was capable of going to any length in violating the tenets of law, civilised norms and morality to safeguard his “unconstitutional, illegal, undemocratic and immoral rule”.

The PML-N leader appealed to the youth, intellectuals, traders, labourers, students, elders and other sections of society to join lawyers in their protest to rid the country of those who had put the very existence of the country at risk.

Mr Sharif pledged to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people in this struggle and to render every sacrifice required.