ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that democracy was not allowed to take root in the country since its birth in 1947, ARY News reported.
Speaking to the “Vote Ko Izzat Do” (Respect Vote) seminar organised by his party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif said that founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s sudden demise and his close aide Liaquat Ali Khan’s murder led to a political crisis in Pakistan which was further aggravated by repeated intervention of “non-political forces”.
Sharif, who was disqualified for life by a Supreme Court decision on April 13, repeated the whole political history of the country lamenting that no premier, whether democratically elected or installed by a dictator, was allowed to complete his term, a trend which harmed the political culture and democracy in Pakistan.
“People’s mandate was disrespected, their collective wisdom was insulted while democratic forces were targeted and thrown out of power several times in a row,” said the former PM.
He reiterated his resolve to continue his fight for safeguarding the sanctity of the vote and leave no stone unturned in his efforts to give our younger generation a better and “democratic” Pakistan.
Along with PML-N’s top leadership, the seminar was attended by Awami National Party’s (ANP) Mian Iftikhar Hussain, PkMAP’s Mehmood Achakzai, JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and a number of other leaders from prominent political parties.
Supreme court on April 13 banned former Nawaz Sharif from participating in elections and holding a public office for life.
Last month, Nawaz’s brother Shahbaz Sharif formally took charge of the PML-N after an earlier court ruling banned the former premier from heading the party.
Sharif is the 15th prime minister in Pakistan’s 70-year history to be removed before completing a full term.
