ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: Pakistan Muslim League-N announced on Thursday that it had decided to boycott the general elections as a mark of protest over the assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and asked President Pervez Musharraf to resign immediately.
Addressing a news conference after presiding over an emergency meeting of the PML-N, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said his party had given a call for a complete strike on Friday and a three-day mourning.
He said it was time to heal the wounds of the people of Sindh and save the federation from total collapse and disintegration.
He accused the government of trying to kill both the popular leaders in one day as his rally also was attacked and four people were killed on the spot and several others injured while the other attempt succeeded and resulted in the death of Ms Bhutto.
Mr Sharif brushed aside the advice of US President Bush not to postpone the elections, saying: “This question is to be resolved by the people of Pakistan who are immersed in deep grief and sorrow.
“This is not the time for elections, but it is time for saving Pakistan from plunging into a 1971-like situation as by killing Benazir, the forces have tried to kill Pakistan, kill democracy and also kill the federation of Pakistan,” declared an emotional Mr Sharif flanked by PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and Javed Hashmi.
The former premier termed the murder of PPP leader a serious security lapse, and said that if the security agencies were aware of the threat to her life they should have either stopped her from reaching the venue or made foolproof security cordon around her.
The PML-N leader claimed that his party was leading the election campaign with bright prospects of getting majority seats but it was time to save Sindh and Pakistan.
Mr Sharif said that his party had already expressed its belief that fair and free elections were not possible, but it was forced to participate due to lack of consensus among the opposition parties.
He appealed to the PPP, ANP and JUI-F to boycott the polls to prove that no party trusted Pervez Musharraf to hold fair and transparent polls.
Mr Sharif said that the PML-N demanded that after the stepping down of Musharraf, a national government should be formed in consultation with all parties which should hold elections through an independent election commission.
The PML-N chief said that after boycotting elections the anti-government campaign would enter a new phase. He, however, parried a question whether he would go back to the APDM which had already boycotted the polls.
He alleged that national integrity had been put at stake and the wounds so caused would take centuries to heal. He said that Benazir had sacrificed her life for restoration of democracy.
Mr Sharif asked the nation, particularly Punjab, to raise united voice against this tragedy. He said he did not expect an impartial inquiry into the incident and would want that the next government should do the job.
He said: “It is a considered opinion of my party that no fair elections can be held under Musharraf, nor peace can be established in his presence and the federation of Pakistan will remain in grave danger as long as he is at the helm as he is the root cause of all ills”.
Answering a question, he said desperate efforts were made to contact PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim to consult before making the announcement, but the attempts had failed. But leader of opposition in Senate Raza Rabbani and Aitzaz Ahsan had been informed about the boycott decision.
Addressing the Sindhis, he said: “Rest assured that the whole of Punjab, Balochistan and all of us are with you in this tragic moment of history and we will not sit idle until we get rid of the cruel rulers”.
APDM SUSPENDS ACTIVITIES: The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has suspended all its activities to mourn the assassination of Ms Bhutto.
APDM convener Mahmood Khan Achakzai told Dawn that the alliance was suspending for an indefinite period all its protest plans to mobilise public opinion for the election boycott.
He appealed to the masses to mourn the death of a former prime minister by keeping the shutters of their businesses down, hoisting black flags and coming out of their homes for effectively displaying a traffic jam to show solidarity with the aggrieved PPP workers.
Mr Achakzai said he was at a loss to condemn the incident which, he feared, would prove dangerous for the country.
He demanded that the government should postpone the polls. “A government that could not provide security to a twice-elected prime minister is unable to hold polls in this situation.”
Referring to the assaults on Ms Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in Rawalpindi the same day, he questioned how and why law-enforcement agencies failed to provide security to both the former prime ministers though their engagements were pre-announced.
Mr Achakzai appealed to the PPP activists to show restraint as rioting would do no good for the cause their leader had been struggling for.
He also demanded that the armed forced must pull themselves out of politics to save the country from further deterioration.
QAZI HUSSAIN AHMED: In Lahore, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed termed Benazir’s assassination a national tragedy which has saddened the whole nation.
In a statement, the JI chief appealed to the people to observe a strike on Friday.
He said the killing of Benazir is another tragedy for the family which also suffered the deaths of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, brothers Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Mir Shah Nawaz Bhutto.
The Qazi said the JI leadership shared the grief of PPP workers and leaders. He said that President Pervez Musharraf, being at the helm of affairs, should be held responsible for all tragedies, including this one. “He must immediately resign, followed by formation of a government of national unity, which should restore the Constitution and free the judiciary in the country.”
The JI chief said: “The assassination has created a political vacuum, which the present set-up of political slaves will not be able to fill, nor will the so-called electoral exercise be of any help. The PPP leadership should now join the rest of the political forces to force Pervez Musharraf out of power and rebuild the country”.
IMRAN KHAN: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan said the assassination of Benazir Bhutto had once again proven the government’s total failure.
He said in a statement here that President Pervez Musharraf should immediately resign so that the country could be saved from suffering more tragedies.
Keeping political differences aside, the killing of Ms Bhutto should be condemned in strongest terms.
RAFIQ TARAR: Former president Rafiq Tarar said the assassination was a national tragedy. The rulers must quit and a government of national consensus should be formed to save the country.
He appealed to the people to remain peaceful in this hour of trial and pray for the country.
