Sharif pokes fun at Musharraf, advises him to take rest
Islamabad (PTI): Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif on Sunday took a dig at his bete-noire President Pervez Musharraf, pretending he could not even remember the name of the former general who had ousted him in a 1999 coup and advised him to
"take rest".
Addressing a news conference in Murree after clinching a power sharing deal with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari , Sharif responded to a question by saying:
"You referred to this general whose name I can't remember... oh yes, Pervez Musharraf."
Amidst peels of laughter from mediapersons, Sharif went on to poke fun at Musharraf's recent comments about the state of the Pakistani economy. He also said Musharraf should now "take rest" as dictatorship had no future in Pakistan.
"The power has been given to the opposition parties by the 160 million people of Pakistan.... Enough is enough. You please take rest as there is no future for dictatorship in this country," he said.
After deposing Sharif, Musharraf forced him and his brother Shahbaz to go into exile in Saudi Arabia in exchange for dropping the sentences awarded to them.
Sharif, who returned in November last year, said: "You must have heard his comments a few days ago that he had filled Pakistan's coffers with billions of dollars.
"And in the same breath he says the balance of trade has been upset and debts have increased. Please tell me what we should believe," said the PML-N chief, who has been insisting on Musharraf's resignation since the opposition swept the February 18 polls.
Sharif had appointed Musharraf as army chief in 1998 after promoting him over several other generals.