People of Punjab, K-P chose PML-N, says CM

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has expressed gratitude to the people over the ruling party's sweeping victory in Sunday's by-elections, asserting they had reposed their trust in the politics of public service.

In a statement and addressing a meeting of provincial ministers and secretaries, she congratulated all successful PML-N candidates.

Calling the by-elections a referendum, she said the people of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had decisively chosen the party.

She said the PML-N had won back all the seats it had previously lost, including in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Chak Jhumra, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal and Haripur.

The chief minister said an "artificially created idol" that had been empowered by the state had now been "shattered". "The shelf life of a false narrative eventually ends," she said.

She criticised those who boycotted elections.

She also criticised the K-P government for what she called lack of development and reliance on rhetoric.

She said, "I consider it an insult to the people of Punjab to extend their hands to the world to help the flood-affected people. People of other provinces should also question their governance."

This year, no institution or market was closed in Lahore due to smog, she said.