Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that his party will put all its weight behind prime minister in case of presidency's reluctance to scrap presidential powers. "In case of any tussle between prime minister and president regarding the constitutional powers, we will back prime minister to save the parliamentary system and democracy in the country," Nawaz said while addressing a press conference here at Punjab House.
He said that the 17th Amendment can be repealed within 10 minutes if PPP desires it. "PML-N will soon table a bill in the National Assembly to repeal the 17th Amendment and remove the imbalance in power created by military dictator," he maintained.
Nawaz said that his party, after consideration of almost one year is tabling a bill in the parliament for annulling 17th Amendment. "We were waiting for President Zardari that he will honour his words and repeal the 17th Amendment, reinstate the judiciary, but he has failed," he added.
He said that both the major political parties of the country PPP and PML-N had promised the nation to annul this amendment and now it's time to see who will fulfil it. "If the PPP-led government supported the bill, it would be passed in less than 10 minutes," he said. "I am still ready to embrace President Zardari if he fulfils his promises," he said, adding that if the promises were fulfilled, the country's political and economic situation would have been different from present.
Responding to a question regarding the amalgamation of different factions of Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz said his party has not closed its doors for any political party. To another question about Indo-Pak tensions in the backdrop of Mumbai attacks, he said that some elements were trying to create war hysteria between two South Asian neighbours. "It is time that both the countries show sagacity to frustrate the evil designs of such forces," he added.
Sharif urged India to keep sustaining direct links with Pakistan as any break in the links between two countries will have worst impact on overall situation. India should hold dialogue with Pakistan instead of giving threats of breaking relations, he asserted. To another question about arrival of Saudi Intelligence Chief, Nawaz Sharif expressed hope that Saudi Prince will help defuse Pak-India tension escalated following Mumbai terrorist attacks. This visit of Saudi Prince is part of international efforts to defuse tensions between the two countries, he added.