ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: Chairperson Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Rahber Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Friday greeted the Muslims on the advent of Ramazan and urged them to seek forgiveness of their sins and blessings of Allah in this holy month.

In her message to the nation, Ms Bhutto said: "I wish to felicitate the Muslims throughout the world in general and the Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan in particular on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.

"The month of Ramadan is a month of fasting and blessings, which enjoins upon the Muslims to devote themselves to observe fasting and refrain from all evil deeds. "On this occasion, I urge the countrymen to make full use of the holy month in seeking forgiveness of their sins and in submitting to the will of Allah.

"Each age and each society has a distinct evil peculiar to it. Evil manifests itself in different shapes at different times. One of the greatest evils of our time is the hijacking of constitutional and democratic rights of people by a handful of ambitious power seekers and the arrogation of social and economic opportunities to a select few at the expense of the vast teeming millions.

"On this auspicious occasion therefore, I call upon my countrymen not to give up their rights and not to allow the hijacking by few of what actually belongs to the people.

"In this connection I, therefore, urge the party leaders to arrange Iftar meetings to meet and educate the workers and the people. The people must be taken into confidence on the challenges posed to the civil society by a handful of power seekers.

Our people need to be educated on how joblessness and the doling out of civil jobs and opportunities to serving and retired military officers have created innumerable hardships.

In his message, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said the Muslim Ummah was passing through a testing time and the only way to come out of this phase was to seek divine guidance with complete unity in our ranks.

He said the people of Pakistan in particular faced a serious challenge because the country born in the name of Islam was in great peril. It was a matter of deep concern that today Pakistan not only lacked national unity, but also the 1973 Constitution, which was the most important basis of national solidarity, had been mutilated and vital national interests sacrificed to the personal interests of just one person.