ISLAMABAD: The gloves came off fully on Sunday when PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif dubbed the president as the biggest threat to democracy. It was reminiscent of the nineties when the opposition and the government would be incessantly at each others’ throats.

The PML-N supremo, who appeared a man who had simply had enough of his forced political honeymoon with adversary-turned-friend-turned-adversary President Asif Ali Zardari, was unforgiving in his criticism of the latest presidential action of trying to force judicial appointments in defiance of the chief justice of Pakistan’s recommendation.

Calling the appointment of judges by the government against the CJ’s recommendation as “action replay of November 03, 2007 action by Musharraf”, he said that he saw President Asif Ali Zardari as the biggest threat to democracy, maintaining that his party would play its due role inside and outside parliament with the support of the people.

“I have not seen a bigger threat to democracy than from President Zardari as the President House has once again tried to impose its will on the judiciary,” Nawaz said while addressing a news conference after presiding over a PML-N consultative meeting here at the Punjab House.

Sharif also hinted that the coming days would be very important. “We will take important decisions in the days to come while keeping a close eye on the rulers,” he maintained. He also hastened to advise the Army from playing any interventionist role by adding “the Army should stay out of it because we are capable of taking care of the situation ourselves”.

Sharif ruled out any role from the third force in the present situation. “We will handle the situation ourselves and do not involve the Pakistan Army in the system,” he said while responding to a question.

He said he had asked the prime minister a day earlier not to further delay the appointment of judges and follow the Supreme Court’s recommendations in this connection. “I was assured that the same would be done but what happened the next day was totally different,” he said.

To a question about the PML-N’s role of friendly opposition, he demanded the resignation of the NRO beneficiaries, asked them to face courts and also demanded of President Zardari to bring back the country’s wealth stashed away “in his Swiss bank accounts”. Nawaz Sharif said the November 03 action was taken by a dictator but regretted that the February 13 decision goes to the credit of ademocratic government, which had made the judiciary its target to “cover its own acts of corruption”.

The former prime minister said the PML-N would mobilise the people and would also contact other political parties so that the democratic system did not fall prey to any misadventure. He maintained that the time had come to play a straightforward role to safeguard democracy and institutions. “We cannot act as silent spectators to the situation where an individual on his own will is disgracing institutions of the nation for the sake of his interests and objectives,” he said.

Sharif launched a castigating attack on President Zardari who, he said, had subjected the country and the system to uncertainty by “crossing his limits”. Nawaz Sharif, who was talking in an aggressive tone during the press briefing, observed that the government had so far not digested the restoration of the judiciary. “We feel that the federal government has not accepted whole-heartedly the restoration of the judiciary, which was a result of the struggle of masses, lawyers, civil society and the political parties,” he remarked.

He said the PML-N meeting, held prior to the press conference, warned the government in the strongest words to ensure supremacy of law and the Constitution and stop the clash between vital institutions of the state.

He made it clear that the PML-N would not allow the government to impose its will with regard to the implementation of the Charter of Democracy (CoD), appointment of judges, Supreme Court decisions, respect for vital institutions and other key issues.

“Our attachment and love for the democratic system does not mean that we give an absolutely free hand to the government for corruption and to play with constitutional institutions of the country,” Nawaz Sharif said in a flat matter-of-fact tone.

He said that the PML-N would hold strict accountability of the substandard and bad governance, which had confronted the country with many crises. He said he had not shaken hands with President Zardari for such a day. “He had made promises before parliament twice that he will implement the CoD and the 17th Amendment will go and another occasion of his address to parliament is due next month,” he said.

He regretted that since the Bhurban agreement, there had been a series of broken promises by President Zardari. He pointed that it was his national duty to stop Zardari from taking unconstitutional measures as the whole system and institutions were being affected because of his actions.

“The rulers considered the earlier judiciary inherited from a dictator as a solution to their problems which would have closed its eyes to corruption and support their every unlawful and unconstitutional step,” he said, adding: “They want to target this independent judiciary so that the whole record of their corruption could be covered up.”

Nawaz Sharif regretted that President Zardari had imposed a governor in the Punjab “who has been conspiring against the Punjab government and his whole existence is littered with corruption”.

To a question, he said he was playing his present role without any lust for power and what he was doing was for the rule of law and the Constitution. “I do not care if the media says that the graph of my popularity is going down because of my certain stances. What I am doing is for the sake of law and the Constitution,” he said.

He said the government was playing with the institutions in a childish way and the whole country had been turned into an absurd circus. “The situation could have been averted had the government implemented the Charter of Democracy,” he said. In the past, the judiciary had not been able to stop the way of dictatorships, he said, adding the present judiciary had the courage to stand up to any unconstitutional and dictatorial action.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Ahsan Iqbal, Ishaq Dar and other leaders were also present during the press conference