Sharif will not ‘take ouster lying down’

Deposed premier asks supporters to wait for his future plan

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Continuing with his scathing criticism of the judiciary, the deposed prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, told thousands of his cheering supporters on Friday that his ouster from office was a ‘joke’.



Sharif was referring to the July 28 verdict of a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court that unanimously disqualified him from holding a public office for not being Sadiq (truthful) and Amin (trustworthy).

“You elect someone and he is humiliated and ousted. I cannot accept this joke. Can you accept this? A defiant Sharif questioned rhetorically while addressing a huge gathering during a stopover at Gujrat on the third day of his journey from Islamabad to Lahore via GT Road to display his political prowess.

With thousands of supporters and admirers jostling along the route, the deposed premier continued with his defiant procession down GT Road, inching closer to Lahore, the bastion of his party.

After spending the night at a hotel on the banks of the Jhelum river, Sharif made his way into central Punjab, the political heartland of the PML-N, and stopped at Gujrat, where he offered Friday prayers and addressed PML-N workers at GTS Chowk.



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“Every prime minister in this country was allowed one-and-a-half years on average to rule. Some were executed, some jailed, some handcuffed and some exiled,” he said while referring to chequered history of democracy in Pakistan.

“On the other hand, dictators were allowed to rule for decades and the judges even allowed them to rule.”

Sharif has specifically referred to the five judges on the bench of the Supreme Court that passed the verdict to disqualify him under Article 62 of the Constitution in the Panamagate case.

“I became the prime minister of Pakistan through votes, whereas five honourable judges sent me home. Only those who vote politicians to power have the right to depose them,” he thundered.

Sharif, who could not complete his term for a third time, also asked the gathering, “Should I sit back and accept the verdict or fight the injustice?”

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The people responded in unison with a big 'No', prompting Sharif to ask them to stand by him. “If you do not want me to sit back, then you would have to stand by me. Stand by me to change the fate of this nation. Promise me that you would do what I tell you,” he said.

Sharif said time had come to change the country. “We would have to make sure that your vote is respected. It is a question of respect for vote of 200 million people. I would not allow anyone to trample your right to elect leaders of choice," Sharif said.

He also announced that he would announce his future plan of action and asked his supporters to wait for it.

Sharif said he had not filed an appeal in the apex court against his ouster, but has placed his case before the people to decide. “I am back in the court of the people,” Sharif added. “I have filed no appeal in the courts; my only appeal is in your court.”

“Why was I unseated? Someone tell me how I committed corruption. There is not a single stain of corruption on me,” he claimed. “They [SC judges] removed me because I did not take salary from my son. What kind of father takes a salary from his son?” he asked. “They took your votes, ripped them up and returned them to you.”

“This is the respect given to your vote. Your vote has not been respected at all,” he said, in a direct appeal to their sympathy.



Families crowded on rooftops and celebratory gunshots were fired while the crowd chanted “Look who is here, the tiger is here”.

Sharif had been addressing the crowd from a makeshift stage behind a bulletproof glass, his voice sounding tired with the long journey, but bold as he insisted he was ‘innocent’.

Thousands also lined the road to catch a glimpse of the former premier as his convoy rolled down the route. Sharif is travelling in a bomb-proof vehicle especially designed for the journey.

According to the schedule of PML-N, Sharif is expected to spend the night in Gujranwala. He would leave for Lahore in the morning and is expected to reach there at 4pm on Saturday (today).

Meanwhile, the PML-N is facing serious internal split vis-à-vis the GT Road rally. This is evident from mismanagement and lack of coordination in the party.

Senior leaders whose input was ignored before mapping out the plan for Sharif’s journey have silently distanced themselves from the campaign.

Sources in the ruling PML-N said Sharif expressed his displeasure on Thursday when the rally passed through Mandra Highway and Rawat in Rawalpindi district as party stalwarts did not receive the warm welcome they were expecting.



In the same area, participants of the rally sped up their vehicles all the way to Dina, Jhelum, without stopping in between. “Driving at 120 kilometres per hour and that, too, uninterrupted is not possible when a flood of people is on the roads to welcome you,” a party stalwart said.

A source said the decision to speed up Sharif’s convoy from Rawat to Dina was announced by Khawaja Saad Rafique during the journey on the pretext of security threats.

“There was no prior plan to drive speedily. That there were security threats in Rawat and not in a city like Jhelum where Sharif’s convoy received a warm welcome and he addressed the public is something incomprehensible,” an insider said.

He said the party leadership initially decided to lead a huge rally from Islamabad to Lahore and instructed party members to assemble in the federal capital earlier on Wednesday.

However, later Sharif changed the plan and decided that PML-N’s local chapters falling on the rally’s route would make arrangements to welcome the rally in respective areas instead of supporters accompanying Sharif from Islamabad to Lahore.

This, insiders said, created confusion, with scores of party activists already having left for Islamabad and Rawalpindi to accompany Sharif, as per the initial instructions, while others stayed in their respective areas to welcome Sharif following the plan devised later.

Reportedly, the rally that set off from Jhelum around 11am on Friday, also did not receive the anticipated welcome at Chakwal, which also did not go down well with Sharif, the insiders said, adding Sharif had mentioned lack of response in Chakwal and the role of PML-N’s MNA from Chakwal Major (retd) Tahir Sadiq in this regard after he reached Gujranwala.



“This is the result of rivalries between local groups of the PML-N in different areas of Punjab due to which the party is suffering,” the insiders said.

The PML-N’s powerful Punjab chapter is reportedly not happy with Sharif’s decision to travel via GT Road instead of the motorway, mainly due to security reasons.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah denied that the provincial leadership did not extend active support to the rally. “Had it not been for our support, this rally would not have been that successful.”

On the lack of arrangements for party activists who were part of the rally, the minister said it had already been decided that local chapters concerned would stay in their respective areas to welcome participants of the rally instead of bringing a big rally from Islamabad.

“This was the decision from day one. Those accompanying the rally other than senior leaders were conveyed beforehand that they had to manage their own food and stay in case they wanted to stick around.”

 (With additional reporting by Sardar Sikander in Islamabad)