ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would observe black day on Friday against the decision of Lahore High Court, disqualifying party chief Nawaz Sharif from contesting the by-election last Monday.

It would be the third such step of PML-N which directly goes against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led coalition government of which the PML-N, though not part of the cabinet at present, but the second largest coalition partner.

The first step was PML-Ns participation in the lawyers long-march, the second was its walkout from the national assembly on the last day of the budget session and the last but probably might not be least the proposed black day to be observed on Friday.

Spokesman of PML-N Siddiqul Farooq said that his party will observe black day on Friday across the country where slogans against the PCO judges and their protectors would be chanted and workers and party leaders would wear black ribbons to mark the day.

He said that the protest would be against the unconstitutional verdict of the PCO court given against the most popular leader and a former two-time prime minister barring him from contesting election.

“It is a decision by what he termed an illegal court against a citizen of this country depriving him of his fundamental right to contest the election,” he remarked. To a question, PML-N leader said that how the court gives verdict against the most popular national leader as the court itself is an illegal and an unconstitutional body.

It was a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif as was previously hatched through Rehman Malik, the Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs by postponing the by-election till August, which was subsequently rejected by all.

However, he was reluctant to level the allegation directly against the PPP, saying he did not want to disclose everything at this stage.

When his attention was drawn towards the federal government move for filing petition against the verdict, he remarked, “whatsoever the federal government does, PML-N will not accept the PCO judges as legitimate judiciary.”

About the PML-N future strategy to keep the ruling coalition intact after subsequent developments, he said that his party is observing the situation and would decide its future line of action within couple of weeks. Business Recorder, 2008

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