Nawaz always lifts a falling Pakistan, ousted when it's rising: Maryam

Special prayers offered for Kulsoom Nawaz at St Anthony's Church in Lahore

Former first daughter Maryam Nawaz said on Friday that her father, deposed PM Nawaz Sharif, had always pulled the country out of crises when he came to power.

"And the country is always on a path to progress when he [Nawaz] is ousted," she said at the St Anthony's Church in Lahore where special prayers were offered for her mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is undergoing treatment for lymphoma in UK.

"When my father came to power, Pakistan was witnessing a decline in every sector. Worship places were being bombed. But now the problems of terrorism and power shortage have been effectively dealt with," she maintained.

"Don't punish the entire country if you [rivals] have a grudge against my father," she remarked.

"We don't need to change prime ministers, but the country's judicial system."



Maryam pointed out that no court had dared to punish Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who had breached the country's constitution.

"Today, I have brought the case of Nawaz Sharif to your court," she added.

The former first daughter claimed that the people of Pakistan had rejected her father's disqualification and would respond to the verdict by voting for her mother in the NA-120 by-poll on September 17.

She also asked the  Christian community to vote for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

"My mother has undergone surgery and she is recovering thanks to you prayers," she told the gathering at the church.

She said Pakistan belonged to all communities living in the country regardless of their faith or race.

"We are Pakistanis and share each other's happiness and sorrows," she added.

Kulsoom is running for the NA-120 by-poll, the seat left vacant following Nawaz’s disqualification.

A five-member Supreme Court bench on July 28 disqualified Nawaz from the PM’s office for failing to declare a salary, which he had not withdrawn as an executive of Dubai-based company, as an asset when filing his nomination papers in 2013.