Nawaz boycotts polls Calls for complete strike today

CNews ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PML (N) Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday announced boycott of the coming general elections against the killing of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto.“The PML-N announced to boycott the January 8 elections against the brutal killing of Benazir Bhutto,” Nawaz Sharif said while addressing a press conference at the residence of party leader Raja Ashfaq Sarwar late at night. He also said that Pervez Musharraf was the root-cause of all problems being faced by the country as fair and free elections were not possible till he is in power. He also demanded that Pervez Musharraf should immediately quit as the federation of Pakistan was facing threats in his presence.“It is time to heal the wounds of Sindh and save the federation from collapse,” he said. PML-N leaders Raja Zafarul Haq and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi were also present on the occasion. The former prime minister also gave call for complete strike on Friday and three days mourning.He brushed aside the advice of US President Bush not to postpone the elections. “This is not a time for elections but time to save Pakistan,” he said. Nawaz Sharif observed that it is to be decided by the people who are in deep grief and not by the United States. He accused the regime of trying to kill both the popular leaders in one day as his rally was also attacked by assailants killing four on the spot and injuring several others while the attempt on Mohtarama, whom he called his sister, was successful. He said the regime was taking the country to a 1971-like situation by killing Benazir Bhutto and killing democracy. He termed the incident a total security collapse saying if the intelligence agencies had any information about the attack, they should have stopped Mohtarama from addressing the public meeting.He appealed to the PPP, the ANP and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI to also boycott the polls to prove that no party trusts Gen (retd). Musharraf for holding fair and transparent polls. Nawaz Sharif asked the whole nation particularly Punjab to raise a united voice over this national tragedy. He said we have no expectations of any impartial inquiry into the incident and we would like the next government to undertake this. He said his party had bright chances of winning the elections with a majority but it was a considered opinion that fair elections could not be held under Musharraf. To a question, he said he had tried during the last two hours to contact PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim to consult him before making the announcement but it could not materialise. “ We, however, apprised Senator Raza Rabbani of our decision,” he said.