Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan remembered

Staff Report

LAHORE: Speakers at a reference in memory of the late politician Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan on Thursday urged all democratic politicians to gather at one platform for the restoration of “true democracy” to Pakistan.

They urged politicians to learn from their mistakes and resolve their mutual disputes to complete the mission of the late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan to make the country democratic. The late Pakistan Democratic Party chief during his life tried to gather politicians on the one point agenda of restoration of democracy, they said.

The convener of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Balochistan, Sardar Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, said if political leaders wanted to bring about a positive change in the country, they should follow the democratic norms set by the Nawabazada’s 55 years of struggle for democracy. He said the four provinces could function smoothly only under a democratic system. Mr Jogezai said the ruling party lacked leadership and politicians from each party were responsible for the political crises in the past. He said Pakistan was faced with political instability and all democratic politicians should contest the next general elections at one platform.

A Pakistan People’s Party central leader, Nafees Ahmed Siddique, highlighted the Nawabzada’s struggle for the revival of democracy and against the dictatorship of four generals.

He asked the people to differentiate between the “true opposition” and “those who while sitting on the opposition benches, helped General Pervez Musharraf prolong his rule through the 17th Amendment”.

He said the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) would not have dared to make a deal with the government when Shah Ahmed Noorani was alive. The MMA leadership made the deal with the government just one week after the Maulana’s death.

The PPP leader said the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy would never accept Gen Musharraf as president or army chief because he was ruling the country contrary to the 1973 Constitution. “The Nawabzada viewed democracy not as a style of governing the state, but a system of government,” he said.

The senior vice-president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, advocate Sultan Mehmood Khan, the Qaumi Jamhoori Party’s advocate Muhammad Hanif Goraya, the Awami Tehrik president, Major (r) Anwar Alwi, the PML-N’s advocate Naseer Ahmed Bhutta, Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf Mehlon, Manzoor Ahmed Bhatti and others also spoke on the occasion.

Home | National