ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called on opposition parties gathered for a multiparty conference in Islamabad on Sunday to formulate a plan of action to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Sharif addressed the conference through a video-link from London, where has been since November last year. He flew to the UK in an air ambulance for medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence.
“Our foremost priority should be removing this selected government and this system,” the former premier and leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told the conference participants.
"We should formulate a comprehensive strategy for supremacy of the constitution and respect for vote,” he said, adding that the opposition’s struggle was not against the current prime minister but “those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections to bring an inefficient man like him in power and destroyed the country.”
He said the people's mandate had been hijacked during the 2018 general elections which put the PTI in power, as he alleged that it was already decided who would win before the vote even took place.
He also accused state agencies, including the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency, of discriminatory actions against opposition politicians.
During his third term as prime minister, Sharif was removed from power by the Supreme Court in 2017 amid revelations over his personal wealth. Subsequently convicted of corruption, he has consistently denied the accusations.
“Whatever strategy (against the government) you’ll devise, the PML-N will fully support it,” Sharif said.
Former President Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who has been under investigation on charges of corruption and money-laundering, also participated in the conference through a video-link from Karachi.
Earlier, Zardari also urged the multiparty conference hosted by his son, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to formulate a plan that would help strengthen democracy in the country.
“We are not here to overthrow the government, but our aim should be revival of the democracy,” he said
The conference is still underway, expected to put forth a joint plan of action by Sunday evening.
