Most people say Nawaz should have honoured exile agreement

[Awesome]

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

By Atif Khan and Sohail Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: People on Tuesday expressed a mixed reaction to the deportation of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, with a majority saying that he should have accepted and honoured the exile agreement.

A small number of people, however, said there would have been no harm if President Pervez Musharraf had allowed the former premier to stay in Pakistan.

Some believed Musharaf should have shown some flexibility. They said Sharif’s deportation would worsen the law and order situation. Almost the entire working class showed no interest in political activities, saying an elected government or dictatorship were of no difference to them, because neither did anything for their benefit. “Rulers have jumbled up things. Being a Pakistani, Nawaz has a right to stay in his country. This right must not be denied. His deportation reflects President Musharaf’s hunger for power,” Saleem Khan, a banker, said.

Khan thinks Musharaf was sincere with the country in his early days of power and that “now his intentions have changed”. “We don’t have a democratic mindset. Nawaz is a businessman and Benazir Bhutto a landlord. Do you expect these leaders to bring democracy to the country?” Nargis, a businesswoman, expressed concern over Nawaz’s deportation. For her, the lack of democracy is the cause for slow progress of the country. Illiteracy and the government’s inability to hold rulers accountable are also causes of the socio-economic downfall of the country.

Nargis criticised religio-political elements for “victimising women”. She called for new and sincere politicians to lead the nation. Chaudhry Tanveer Abbas, a contractor, said Nawaz should have honoured the exile agreement, if he had signed any. He said no leader bothered to solve people’s problems. “The bribery culture is thriving at government offices. It is almost impossible to get one’s problem addressed without a bribe. ”

“It is time for the young leadership to come up. Old leaders should be discouraged as they have been cheating people,” Qazi Saeed, a publisher, said. He said democracy was meant for public welfare but leaders in Pakistan never cared for it.

“All leaders claim to reform the current system of the country and bring prosperity to people, but nothing has been done practically.” “Access to education, healthcare and employment are still a dream for Pakistanis,” he said, adding that people had no concern who was allowed to land in Pakistan or not.

Rashid Abbasi, a shopkeeper, said authorities were creating a mess by ignoring court orders and deporting Nawaz. He said traders were vulnerable to political gatherings. He said the government should hold fair and free elections. “No law restricts people from welcoming their leaders,” Abbasi said, adding that five members of his family were arrested when they were going to welcome Nawaz at the Islamabad airport.