ABBOTTABAD, Oct 24: Veteran politician Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan has said that without first checking the role of ISI in politics holding of elections will be a futile exercise.

Addressing a press conference at his residence here on Wednesday, Mr Khan said the people should come out on the streets instead of relying on the Supreme Court on vital issues.

He said the Supreme Court had its limitations and the responsibility of ousting the rulers now rested on the shoulders of the masses. He demanded the restoration of Nawaz Sharif’s government.

The army should be sent back to the barracks as its morale was low and its image tarnished, he said. The army should not follow unlawful orders. He questioned the army’s role in different parts of the NWFP and the tribal areas.

Answering a question, Mr Khan said the interference of the United States and Saudi Arabia in the internal affairs of the country was shameful, terming the government’s policies wrong.

He criticised the National Reconciliation Ordinance and said the rulers had no right to allow the plunderers of national wealth to go scot-free.

About the formation of the interim government, he said the present rulers had started pre-poll rigging by including controversial people in the caretaker set-up.