Nawaz stresses ‘full mandate’ to resolve issues

Says majority gained by a party would eliminate reliance on others

LAHORE:

As the nation headed to polls on Thursday, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif stressed the need for a party to obtain “full mandate” in the general elections in order to resolve the issues of the people.

The three-time premier was talking to media after casting his ballot in the provincial capital.

“Pakistan’s problems can only be solved when one party gains majority. One party should get ‘full mandate’ so that there is no reliance on others,” he said.

Expanding on his narrative, the PML-N Quaid underscored that this way the culture of using abusive language, which had been prevalent, would come to an end, people’s lives will become easier, inflation will be controlled and the nation will be able to lead a prosperous life.

He said this was the nation’s dream which had been shattered, and led to corruption in society. “We will make the dream a reality. We aim to bring the rights of people to their doorsteps.”

No prime minister in the country’s 76 years history has completed his constitutionally mandated five-year term.

Read: Hours after polling, nation awaits final results of elections

Pakistan is currently grappling with myriad problems, with its fragile economy being the foremost concern. Political instability, terrorism, rising unemployment, increasing inflation, power and gas outages and health issues are among array of challenges awaiting the next government.

The country’s debt has soared to Rs78,000 billion while it faces the daunting task of paying $70 billion in foreign debt over the next three years.

Meanwhile, none of the political parties contesting the elections had a clear roadmap.  The media had also been keen on debating the rhetoric and statements given by political leaders.

The election day – Feb 8 – saw a suspension of mobile and internet services across the country.

Amnesty International slammed the move, terming it “reckless attack on people’s rights”.

“The decision to suspend telecommunications and mobile internet services on an election day is a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Livia Saccardi, Interim Deputy Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said in a post on the micro-blogging site “X”, formerly called Twitter.