Peshawar, Dec 5: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that suicide bombings have become a symbol of last seven years of 'tyrannical rule' of President Pervez Musharraf in the country.

Stating that the country is passing through a critical juncture in its history, Sharif said the person responsible for the present turmoil was Musharraf.

"Due to his (Musharraf) personal whims, he has put the very existence of the country at stake. No one is safe in the country with bloodbath being carried out in the North and South Waziristan tribal agencies and in the Swat Valley," he told reporters in Manshera, North West frontier Province.

Former NWFP Chief Ministers Sardar Mehtab, Pir Sabir Shah and the party's candidate from PF-53 Babar Salim Swati were also present on the occasion.

Sharif accused Musharraf of distorting the Constitution, putting the entire judiciary behind bars and gagging the media.

He asked the people to make sacrifices, as it was the only panacea for ridding the country of dictatorship once and for all, The News reported.

"I have returned with the sole agenda of helping the countrymen and would try to snatch the rights of the people from the usurpers," he said.

Sharif said the rejection of his nomination papers would not demoralise him and those who thought that it would discourage him or his party workers were living in a fool’s paradise.

Replying to a question about his past experiences with Benazir on the Charter of Democracy, Sharif said that now this was a fight of personalities. Rather, it was a matter of more than 160 million people who were being deprived of their rights.

He asked all democratic forces to join hands for the sake of democracy and the country's survival.

Sharif ruled out any quid-pro-quo with the present rulers. He said that the boycott of the elections would only yield results if all the opposition agreed to the boycott proposal.

Sharif criticised the PML-Q, and remarked: "They should be ashamed of themselves for asking votes to justify the unconstitutional and illegal deeds of their mentor (Musharraf)." (ANI)