Nawaz Sharif hopes to serve people again ‘soon’

Says will work to restore sanctity of vote as without this the country can’t progress

MUZAFFARABAD: While reiterating that he wanted to serve the people but was disqualified by the apex court for not receiving salary from his son, the deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif has hoped that prayers will ‘soon’ be answered and he will be able to resume his mission of service.

“Prayers will soon be answered and very soon I will continue to serve both the people of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Pakistan,” Sharif said on Monday while addressing a huge public rally in Muzaffarabad in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day.

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PM-L-N) led government was working for creating more jobs for the people as it was his party’s agenda to end unemployment in the country.



“But unfortunately the vote was not given the honour. We will work to restore the sanctity of the vote as it is the only way to put the country on the track of development. I will continue to serve the nation,” he added.

Sharif said he did not want to talk about his disqualification on the Kashmir Day but added in the same breath that he was disqualified for not receiving salary. “How strange it is. But the people of Pakistan and the AJK have rejected this decision,” Sharif claimed.

He said he loved the mountains of the AJK and would continue to play his role for the development of the region. “I am ousted in Pakistan but not in the AJK. Kashmir runs in my blood. I feel pain when I hear about the killings of our brothers in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK). I have blood relationship with the people of IoK,” he said in emotional tone.

The former PM said the federal government will continue to give money to the government of the AJK for its uplift. “It was the PML-N that doubled the development budget of the AJK. A four-lane motorway will be made from Muzaffarabad to Dina and Muzaffarabad to Mansehra,” he added.



Sharif said: “Pakistan is with Kashmiris. We will never let you down.  Our prayers are with you. The pain of IoK people is the pain of Pakistanis. We will support Kashmiris right of self-determination. We are with IoK people and their pain is ours.”

He said it was painful to see the Kashmiris with pallet injuries that often blind them. “Kashmiris love Pakistan as they bury martyrs in our national flag. We salute them. May Allah will protect them. Bravery and the sacrifices they render will never go in vain and they will achieve their goal,” Sharif added.

Sharif said he also saluted the people of Pakistan. “Pakistan will continue to raise Kashmir dispute at the international level. I raised the Kashmir dispute in the UN and other forums which was a great honour for me,” Sharif added.

Addressing the gathering, Maryam Nawaz Sharif said people of the AJK gave the PML-N mandate which is a great honour for the party as they rejected other political parties in the last election.

“Injuries of the people of the IoK are also painful for us. Our heart bleeds when we see the innocent being killed in IoK. A day will come when we will celebrate Azadi with the people of Kashmir in Srinagar. Our slogan and fight is for the restoration of the sanctity of the vote,” she added.