Sharif to discuss with Bhutto on poll boycott

Lahore, Nov 29: Former premier Nawaz Sharif has said that the Pakistan People"s Party (PPP) was a major political force and he would like to consult Benazir Bhutto before taking a final decision on whether to participate in the general elections or not.

"It had also been decided at the meeting to consult other political parties, lawyers and the civil society before taking any such decision," Sharif told reporters here.

Commenting on restoration of judiciary, Sharif said that if President Pervez Musharraf would restore the judiciary to its pre-November 3 position, the PML-N could respond positively to the government.

He said that his party"s principal stance was that the restoration of the judiciary and they would continue the struggle until they had achieved their goal.

Sharif said that they wanted a complete rollback of steps taken by the Musharraf regime after November 3.

He believed that even if Musharraf took oath as a civilian President, his presidency would still be illegitimate and unconstitutional.

Sharif said that he was stopped from meeting Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan, the media reported.

He said that the PML-N had announced to support Ahsan as the party believed that he was not only a PPP candidate, but also a candidate of the entire nation.

ANI
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