Zardari resorting to adventurism like Musharraf, says Sharif

Lahore, Mar 13 (ANI): PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has regretted backing President Asif Zardari, saying that the PPP co-chairman is resorting to adventurism like former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

In an exclusive interview with Waqt News, Sharif said: "We sincerely backed the PPP and Zardari, but they stabbed us in the back. I was got disqualified from those courts which aren't even accepted by the people."

The former premier said Zardari had offered PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif to follow the policy of give and take, adding "Shahbaz was asked to back extension in the tenure of (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) Justice (Abdul Hamid) Dogar and in return, "we will save you from being declared ineligible from holding any public office and contesting elections."

Sharif further said the situation of the country would not change unless the state institutions were reformed, the mess created by the dictator was cleared and the rule of law was ensured.

He said he wanted to know why Musharraf had not been held accountable for the chaos created by him (Musharraf). The state of affairs would further deteriorate if status quo was maintained, Sharif stated.

The PML-N chief said he was not talking of agitation but he fully backed peaceful Long March launched by the lawyers' community. It were the government circles which were giving wrong colour to the black coats movement and were resorting to harsh tactics to stop this, he regretted.

Sharif reminded that when he was in power, he had not stopped Benazir Bhutto from holding Long March, and said he was even today in favour of solving the problems and issues through parliament, but "Zardari does not want to allow the parliament to make such decisions."

He alleged that the President had made the parliament a powerless institution, reminding that Zardari had himself promised to abolish the Article 58(2)b of the Constitution after becoming President but so far he had not done away with this.

Sharif explained that Long March was not an agitation; rather it was an effort to change the destiny of the country, to help give justice to the masses, to alleviate poverty and to make Pakistan a true Pakistan as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal. (ANI)