Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf addresses supporters outside the airport upon his arrival in Karachi on March 24, 2013. - Photo by AFP
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf addresses supporters outside the airport upon his arrival in Karachi on March 24, 2013.—Photo by AFP

LAHORE: PML-N central leader Muhammad Mehdi has termed reception of former army ruler Pervez Musharraf disappointing.

Talking to a group of reporters here on Sunday, he said the ‘disappointing’ reception accorded to Gen (retired) Musharraf indicated that the masses were aware enough to differentiate between dictatorship and democracy.

He recalled that thousands of people had thronged the Islamabad airport to receive Nawaz Sharif and had endured baton charge and tear gas by the then Musharraf regime back on Sept 10, 2007.

Whereas the party of dictator Musharraf was given a free hand but it could not mange to assemble more than a few hundred people to receive its leader at the Karachi airport.

The PML-N leader also gave credit to his party for the outgoing parliament’s refusal to validate Musharraf’s Nov 3, 2007 ‘mini martial law’ and blocking the way of Kerry Lugar Bill as well as approval of a ‘flawed’ accountability law by the National Assembly.

Referring to the performance of Punjab government, he said it worked wonders in the fields of education, health and communications as it opened medical colleges in remote areas like Dera Ghazi Khan.

Replying to a question, he said the PTI failed to make even that big show it had managed on Oct 30, 2011. He termed Imran Khan’s supporters a fan club that could not form a political party and would disperse on the very first failure in the electoral contest.

Opinion

Editorial

The May war
Updated 06 May, 2026

The May war

Rationality demands that both states come to the table and discuss their grievances, and their solutions in a mature manner.
Looking inwards
06 May, 2026

Looking inwards

REGULAR appraisals by human rights groups and activists should not be treated by the authorities as attempts to ...
Feeling the heat
06 May, 2026

Feeling the heat

ANOTHER heatwave season has begun, and once again, the state is scrambling to respond to conditions it has long been...
Energy shock
Updated 05 May, 2026

Energy shock

The longer the crisis persists, the more profound its consequences will be.
Unchecked HIV
05 May, 2026

Unchecked HIV

PAKISTAN’S HIV surge is no longer a slow-burning public health concern. It is now a system failure unfolding in...
PSL thrills
05 May, 2026

PSL thrills

BY the end of it all, in front of fans who had been absent for almost the entire 11th season of the Pakistan Super...