Nawaz labels Imran a cunning deceiver

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Thursday took a swipe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan without directly naming him, questioning the fulfilment of the promises made by Imran during his tenure in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and accused him of deceiving the people.

Addressing a spirited crowd during a rally in Swat, Nawaz questioned the efficacy of Imran’s pledge to generate 10 million jobs and provide five million houses.

“Raise your hands and tell me how many people here got one of the five million houses,” he challenged the audience, highlighting the alleged failure of the promises made by Imran’s government.

“The people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are very simple people; are you (Imran Khan) not ashamed of deceiving them? Why were false promises made to the public? You secured votes by playing with people’s emotions; later, they were neither given jobs nor any relief,” Nawaz asserted, criticising the credibility of the commitments made by the PTI founder.

The PML-N supremo went on to express his scepticism about the success of the ‘billion-tree tsunami’ project, a cornerstone initiative of Imran’s government.

Read K-P residents deceived by 'change' rhetoric, says Nawaz

“I have come looking the whole way, but I did not see any ‘one billion tree tsunami’. He played with your emotions and took your vote, and later neither gave you a job nor any relief… in the process, you destroyed the old Pakistan as well,” Nawaz remarked, referencing Imran’s slogan of building a new Pakistan.

The PML-N supremo took pride in his own government’s accomplishments, emphasising that his administration ended electricity load shedding in Pakistan. He questioned the wisdom of the people in K-P for supporting Imran despite the achievements of his government.

“If there was Nawaz Sharif’s government here, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would have been the most beautiful province.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2024.