Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says Nawaz Sharif is PML-N’s leaderISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said a court order that barred former premier Nawaz Sharif from leading the ruling party and placed the timing of Senate elections into question hinders democracy and relived past “dictatorial decisions”. “Such decisions never have strengthened democracy,” Abbasi, a Sharif loyalist who was picked by the ruling party as a replacement premier in August, said in Islamabad late Wednesday after the verdict. The party has issued its stance that Nawaz Sharif is our leader.”‘DICTATORIAL DECISIONS’:Abbasi’s comments on “dictatorial decisions” will resonate in a nation that has been ruled for almost half of its 70-year history by the military. However, Imran Khan, the leader of the second-largest opposition party that has pushed a relentless anti-corruption campaign against Sharif, said the Supreme Court provided justice. Abbasi said he didn’t know when the PML-N will take a decision on a new party president.

Source: Pakistan Today February 22, 2018 08:26 UTC