PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Sunday called for immediately devising a national agenda to pull Pakistan out of its current crises and take it on the path of democracy, reiterating the need to “put our house in order”.
In a wide-ranging speech delivered from London to the Asma Jahangir Conference held in Lahore, the former prime minister once again hit out at the military establishment and criticised interference in judicial and government affairs that he claimed had led to Pakistan’s “downfall”.
Nawaz began his speech, relayed during the closing ceremony, by paying tribute to the late celebrated lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir. Nawaz said the current era that Pakistan was going through was a “turning point” in its story.
“The most dangerous aspect is the deepening disappointment and severe helplessness [among the people],” he said. “History is witness that when nations descend into the quagmire of de-spair, questions start to be raised about that na-tion’s survival.”
He said the 220 million people of Pakistan were demanding answers to some fundamental questions and until they received those, the country’s state of affairs would not improve.
“If the tongue of the questioner is pulled, this does not resolve problems,” he added, likening the allegedly deliberate internet disruption during his speech to “pulling [our] tongue”.
