Nawaz links country’s ills to booting out PMs

LAHORE:

PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif on Saturday once again unleashed scathing criticism against what he termed a pattern of orchestrated conspiracy aimed at ousting elected prime ministers, packing them off to jails, and replacing them with another.

He said removing premiers from their office prematurely, instituting frivolous cases against them, and then sending them behind bars were the main reasons behind Pakistan’s economic failures. He asserted that for a country to function, a stable political environment was crucial.

Speaking at two separate events in Sialkot — the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and then a workers’ convention — the former prime minister highlighted that his three truncated tenures had significantly impeded Pakistan’s progress.

Wondering why he was removed from the office thrice, he lamented that despite Pakistan making great strides in all fields during his tenure, an axe was dropped on him. Those who had dropped the axe on him had never thought about Pakistan, he added.

In a pointed reference to Imran Khan, he criticised his replacement, asserting that Imran not only led to the country's deterioration but also tainted cultural values by normalising the use of offensive language. He alleged that Imran was not the people's choice but was instead propelled to power by “conspirators” who he charged with equal responsibility for the nation's sorry state of affairs.

“We cannot hand over our country to people who destroy our culture and distort our values,” he asserted, urging that it was now up to them to bring back people to a path of righteousness. Keeping his focus towards his shortened tenures, the veteran politician said he had seen more days in hardship than in power, but never lost hope, adding that he was ousted without rhyme or reason.

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In 1993, he pointed out that the country was experiencing significant economic growth. Infrastructure projects like motorways were under way, poverty alleviation efforts were in progress, and innovative initiatives like the yellow cab scheme were introduced.

The country was ahead of its neighbours but his tenure was prematurely ended, he lamented, adding that had that momentum been sustained, Pakistan would have emerged as one of the strongest economies.
Even during his last term, he claimed, the country was making progress in all fields, but again a conspiracy was hatched against him.

“What was the need to give a decision of ousting me from office merely for not taking pay from my son,” he asked. The three-time prime minister accused the "Gang of Five" of overthrowing the elected representative of millions of people. Later to ensure that he stayed out of power, the 2018 elections were stolen from him by bringing down the RTS system.

“Despite bringing the RTS down, they failed to eliminate PML-N. “The PML-N despite the rigging was the single largest party in Punjab, even at the Centre, he (Imran Khan) forged an alliance with MQM and BAP to have the four votes required for a simple majority.”

Nawaz, however, stopped short of giving any statement against the MQM and BAP who now were his allies.

'Hardships in jail'

In a separate address to a gathering at the SCCI, the former prime minister recounted his initial imprisonment, which stemmed from a hijacking case. He revealed that there were attempts to secure capital punishment against him in that case, but those plans didn't come to fruition.

He then asked the attendees if any of them had experienced imprisonment. Then, in jest, he turned to his party leaders, questioning their own encounters with jail time. He playfully quizzed Ishaq Dar, present at the gathering, about his stint in prison, prompting laughter throughout the conference room.

Dar responded affirmatively, confirming that he indeed had experienced time behind bars. Continuing, Nawaz highlighted the disparity in export refinance rates during his tenure compared to the present, citing a rise from three per cent to 19 per cent. However, an audience member interjected, recalling that even by the conclusion of his government's tenure in 2018, the export refinance rate stood at 6.5 per cent.

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Nawaz clarified by saying that his government was not fully in control from 2017 to 2018, during the tenure of the then-premier Shahid Khaqan Abbassi. He said that it was during his term they had ended terrorism, brought CPEC to Pakistan, took growth up to 5.8 per cent, and the stock exchange was booming.

He said twice the Indian premier visited to Pakistan during his tenure.

Addressing the workers gathered at Khawaja Asif's residence, he alluded towards upgrading the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway and announced upgrading the Sialkot Airport to bring it on par with the Lahore Airport.