No more friendly Opp: Nawaz

KARACHI: The opposition is shedding its tag of being ‘friendly’ and is getting set to give a tough time to the government.
Addressing a gathering near Khairpur on Tuesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said his party had tried to be patient and tolerant with the government’s decisions, but will now oppose them with ‘full force.’
Nawaz said he would go against all such steps that increase corruption and stoke prices to new heights. He said the public had lost its trust in democracy due to bad governance.
Actions: He called for action against black marketers of sugar. Nawaz said the government was not capable of handling the situation the country was going through, saying that the country did not want a government which asked others for help.
The PML-N chief said the people wanted a self-reliant Pakistan. Calling democracy ‘a horse’ and martial law ‘a donkey’, Nawaz said riding a horse was better than riding a donkey.
He had earlier hinted at introducing a Charter of Pakistan about, which he expressed hope of reaching a consensus among political parties on a 25 year agenda. He had said all political parties should sit together and formulate a 25 year agenda for the nation, adding that his party recognised the supremacy of the constitution.
Charter: Nawaz said he had signed the Charter of Democracy with Benazir Bhutto, but the PPP government was not following it. “The rulers are not caring for the flood survivors, who voted for them,” he said, adding that the Kerry-Lugar law would not have been required if the country had been purged of corruption.
“Every day new taxes are being imposed in Pakistan… how long are the people supposed to bear with this?” he asked. He said that after President Asif Ali Zardari had taken the presidential oath, he was first one to congratulate him.
Preparations: Earlier, the PML-N chief asked his party members in Sindh to start preparing for the local government elections. He said, the PML-N had started a mass contact campaign from Sindh to tackle inflation and “this public meeting is the first of that series”.
Talking to the members of the PML-N Sindh organising committee, Nawaz said the process of party restructuring in the province had started and it would be completed by January. He said there was no need to be a part of the Muttahida Muslim League at this stage. “There will be no compromise on principles. The PML-N will fight the ideological war in the country,” he said.
The PML-N chief said the government did not take him into confidence on its agreements with the international Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that he would not support the government on the issue. He also told the committee that he would soon start visiting other parts of the province.