Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the country’s problems stemmed not only from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan but also from “those who brought him to power”.
Addressing a gathering of the newly elected parliamentarians in Lahore, the former prime minister declared that “lies, abuse, indecency, immorality, and chaos” have been defeated in the by-elections.
The former three-time premier said that the PTI government brought Pakistan’s economy and diplomacy to the brink of collapse.
“The PTI founder is not the only culprit; those who brought him are equally responsible,” he said, while urging action against all those responsible.
Nawaz stated that the country was progressing rapidly during his tenure, saying that he had freed Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral lending institutions.
“If the pace of development had continued, today we would have had a significant place in the world,” he added.
However, the PTI government reversed all the economic and diplomatic gains, he said, while accusing the party of promoting a culture of indecency in the country. “In the previous government’s tenure, the country only saw destruction.”
He added that the PTI government seemed as if it had “come to play cricket — and did just that for five years”.
He lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for helping the country stage an economic and diplomatic recovery.
Nawaz said that the incumbent government saved the country from default and reduced the inflation rate in one and a half years.
The PML-N president was of the view that the country had already lifted off and was set to reach new heights of development and prosperity.
The former premier also assailed the PTI for announcing a boycott of the recently held by-elections and then fielding candidates in several constituencies.
“What kind of boycott was it that Omar Ayub’s wife was contesting?” he asked, saying that the PTI candidates were canvassing while holding the party founder’s portraits.
He then asked CM Maryam, his daughter, to speak her mind about the country’s political environment and her government’s performance.
‘Not easy to end Nawaz Sharif’s political career’
Speaking during the event, the Punjab CM asserted that it was no easy task to end Nawaz’s political career.
“Every time, a new group of conspirators appears. Every time, they claim that Nawaz Sharif’s politics has ended,” he said.
CM Maryam said that her family endured hardships, including exile, during the previous government, which she attributed to the politicisation of personal enmity.
Recalling the time when the PML-N assumed power in the Centre, she said that their “opponents said Pakistan would default”.
“Today, people are no longer paying attention to their calls,” she added.
On the PML-N’s sweeping victory in the by-elections, the Punjab CM said that the party emerged victorious due to the federal and Punjab governments’ service.
The ruling PML-N clean-swept the by-polls for six National Assembly and won six out of seven Punjab Assembly seats, unofficial results showed.
By-elections were held in six National Assembly constituencies — NA-18 (Haripur), NA-96 (Faisalabad), NA-104 (Faisalabad), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-143 (Sahiwal), and NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan).
Polling was also held in seven Punjab Assembly constituencies, PP-73 (Sargodha), PP-87 (Mianwali), PP-98 (Faisalabad), PP-115 (Faisalabad), PP-116 (Faisalabad), PP-203 (Sahiwal), and PP-269 (Muzaffargarh).
As per the unofficial results, the PML-N won all the seats, except PP-269, where the Pakistan Peoples Party emerged victorious. –Agencies
