Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Friday made failing economy and, what he called, Musharraf's cowardness harming Pakistan strong points against political rivals as he addressed first campaign rally since the assassination of fellow opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
"Poor are dying hungry. What for the treasury is full (as Musharraf claims)?" he told a public gathering in Taxila town near Islamabad. "Bread is not available, flour is disappeared and electricity has gone. What they (Musharraf and allies) have made out of Pakistan," he said.
"I did not leave such a Pakistan. It was different then." The head of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said, drawing a comparison between the economy now and eight years ago when his government was toppled. A cheering crowd of more than 5,000 supporters blew whistles and raised chants like "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif" as he appeared for his first address in the town in nine years.
He was deported to Saudi Arabia after being overthrown by Musharraf in a military quo in 1999. The participants were passed through two screening gates before they were allowed inside a protected avenue.
Sharif addressed the rally from a dais some 200 meters above the ground and people were forced to stay behind a metal strip some 100 feet from the podium due to inflated security concerns. Police secured the rooftops of adjacent buildings and houses to make sure no body could target Sharif, who the official intelligence agencies said was a prime target of militants after the killing of Benazir late last year.
Sharif also hit out at what he described uncourageous personality of Musharraf could cause further damage to Pakistan. "What kind of commando he claims to be? He could not defy a single call by a low level official from Washington. I defied five from the top person," he said.
The reference was to Sharif's decision to conduct nuclear tests back in 1998 despite five telephone calls from then US president Bill Clinton asking not to hurry the plan.
While in 2001 after the bombing of twin towers in Americas, Musharraf decided to join the US when it attacked Afghanistan in October after Richard Armitage, then assistance secretary of state, threatened to bombed back Pakistan to Stone Age in case of refusal.
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