Musharraf should not be given safe passage: Sharif

“Democratic forces in Pakistan have come together to defeat dictatorship,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in his Independence Day address, hours after Musharraf belied speculation of his resignation and pressed for rapprochement.

The embattled 65-year-old President’s speech last night was seen as a move to buy time for bowing out “honourably” without facing next week’s impeachment in Parliament.

Amid talks of “graceful exit” for Pervez Musharraf, the former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that the President should not be given “safe passage” even if he steps down.

“Should a person who has reduced Pakistan to this condition be given safe passage? They ask for safe passage after breaking the law and violating the Constitution, selling out the country’s sovereignty, ruining the country and making the people poor,” he said.

“We became independent only to be imprisoned by military dictatorship and Pakistan was ruled by military dictators for 33 years... We wanted the country to be ruled by its crores of people, but instead, it was ruled by a few generals,” he said.

“Today, after a long time we have achieved freedom again and this impeachment is not of Pervez Musharraf, it is an impeachment of the dictatorship that destroyed 61 years in Pakistan’s life,” the PML-N chief added.

As some of his supporters shouted “hang Musharraf”, Sharif, who was deposed as premier by the former army chief in a bloodless coup in 1999, said: “I personally have no anger against anyone and I am not vindictive. Taking revenge is not in my dictionary.” But he said: “we will ensure that Pakistan is freed from military dictatorship forever.”

“Musharraf is a huge liability for the army and I don’t see the army interfering in this,” cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan said, adding “the former military strongman was still in power because Zardari protected him”.

“God knows what will happen afterwards, but it’s irrelevant really, he...