Political figures call for change in Pakistan

Political temperature is on the rise in Pakistan, as the country's main opposition party has staged a rare an anti-government protest outside the Parliament.


The PML-N leader and twice-elected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led the demonstration against the alleged government corruption and bad governance.

The protest was coincided with the anniversary of October 12, 1999 military coup by then Army Chief General Parvez Musharraf against the Sharif's government.

Addressing party workers, Nawaz Sharif launched a strong criticism against the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.

But the government has rejected allegations, claiming the PML-N is conspiring to derail the democracy.

The Senate elections are due in March next year and if polls are held under the current setup, the ruling Peoples Party will gain majority in Upper House of the Parliament.

Analysts say that is the real cause of concern for the Muslim League-Nawaz.

And a number of Muslim League-Nawaz leaders in their speeches have indicated that the time has for a change in the country.

Until recently, the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had restricted their criticism on the government to inside the Parliament but now they have taken their protest to the streets ahead of the crucial Senate elections in the country.

Political analysts believe this will certainly test the administration in Islamabad, which is already under intense public pressure over long power outages and bad economy.