Nawaz cautiously enters election battleground

At Hafizabad rally, PML-N leader blames ills of the country to his untimely removal by ‘five judges’

LAHORE:

PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Thursday cautiously entered the election battleground with a brief address at a rally in Punjab’s Hafizabad district.

In his speech, the three-time former prime minister blamed the majority of Pakistan’s ills on his untimely removal by “five judges” and steered clear of his earlier demands for accountability.

“If those five judges hadn’t removed a representative of 240 million people, every single person in Hafizabad would have a job and every house would have prospered,” Nawaz said, while addressing a big crowd at his maiden election speech.
The PML-N leader was referring to the Supreme Court bench which in July 2017 disqualified him for life while hearing a slew of petitions filed against the former premier after the emergence of Panama Papers.

“[If I had not been removed] every farmer would have prospered; gas and electricity would have been cheaper; roti and nan would have been available at Rs4; a dollar would have been of Rs100; there have been no inflation and Pakistan would have attained a respectable place in the world.”

He said people elected him as the prime minister first in 1990 and if his rule had not been interrupted and he had not been entangled in frivolous cases, arrested and ousted, Pakistan would have been at a much better position in the world.

“When I came to power in 2013, load-shedding was at its peak, law and order situation was the worst, but I managed to eliminate them. If I come into power again, I will bring Hafizabad on a par with Lahore,” he added.

Interestingly, the PML-N supreme leader's speech did not serve as the concluding address at the rally, which marks a departure from tradition. Typically, the top leader's speech is reserved for the last at public rallies.

Nawaz’s political scion Maryam Nawaz delivered the concluding speech in which she compared Nawaz Sharif’s rule between 2013-17 to former prime minister Imran Khan’s rule between 2018 and 2022.

According to Maryam, the PML-N represents May 28 and not May 9. On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted nuclear tests during the second term of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister.

On May 9, 2023, alleged PTI workers and supporters vandalized and set fire to state installations and memorials in the wake of former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest.

“The PML-N gave the country a network of roads and motorways; kept the price of a loaf of bread at Rs2; brought down inflation, ended load shedding and terrorism. Despite facing a barrage of criticism and sit-in, our leader Nawaz Sharif kept serving the people,” she said.

She said Nawaz Sharif thrashed out a plan to fix the economy, reduce inflation, provide people with gas and electricity and jobs.  She said her party would build hospitals and Danish Schools in every district if elected to power again in the February 8 polls.

“Before deciding who to vote, remember that the one who gave petrol bombs in your hands, who instigated you to attack state installations and vandalize memorials, is not your well-wisher.”  Maryam claimed that PTI workers are now languishing in jail but his own children are partying in London.

"Interestingly, neither Nawaz nor Maryam made any mention of the 'handlers' of the PTI and the 'accountability' of those responsible for the former’s repeated ousters—a departure from the past, reflecting the party’s attempt to retain the blessings of the powers that be.

With elections less than a month away, the PML-N is moving ahead with its election campaign in a lackluster manner.

However, the absence of any real competitor in the political arena has also obviated the need for any aggressive campaign.
The PML-N started its election rallies on January 15 and held its second major rally at Hafizabad. Another unusual element of Nawaz Sharif’s speech was its short duration, which was a break from the past."