Nawaz Sharif attracts tens of thousands to Mansehra rally. PHOTO: @ZulfiqarABalti
Sharif travelled to the northwestern town of Mansehra, a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, where supporters packed a huge stadium.
Two police officials estimated the crowd at up to 30,000, in contrast to the hundreds who greeted former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on his return to Pakistan Sunday after four years in exile to contest the polls.
Opinion polls are notoriously unreliable in Pakistan, but indicators suggest Sharif is likely to emerge the biggest winner from the general election on May 11, which will mark the country's first democratic transition of power.
The stadium was decorated with large portraits of Sharif and banners reading "Tiger of Pakistan, we love you" and "Welcome prime minister of Pakistan, pride of Pakistan".
The PML-N's election symbol is a tiger and the rally featured a live tiger in a cage.
Many voters are disillusioned with the outgoing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, saddled with allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Security and the economy have worsened over the last five years.
Pakistan became a nuclear power in May 1998 during Sharif's second term as prime minister. He was ousted by Musharraf the following year.
"Last time we carried out nuclear explosions. Now we will carry out economic explosions," Sharif told the crowd.
Wearing a traditional dark grey turban offered to him by local leaders, he urged them to vote for "Pakistan".
Militant attacks and record levels of violence against the Shia Muslim minority have raised fears about security for the polls in the nation of 180 million.
Sharif ordered a bullet-proof screen around his podium to be removed, a move greeted with loud applause.
But security was extremely tight with police commandos patrolling with AK-47s and a buffer zone ringed with barbed wire around the stage.
As prime minister, Sharif earned praise for economic reforms and for building a motorway from the northwestern city of Peshawar to the northeastern city of Lahore.
He promised that if elected a third time, he would build a motorway from Lahore to Karachi, Pakistan's business capital on the Arabian Sea.
"I am not fond of power, I only want to see my country progressing and my people prosper," he told the crowd.
Sharif was first elected prime minister in 1990 but sacked three years later on corruption charges.
He returned to power in 1997 after an election but was ousted in the 1999 coup by Musharraf and was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000.
He returned in November 2007 just before the February 2008 general election, won by the PPP on a wave of support following the assassination of its leader Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.
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The PML-N undeniably is a major political force in Pakistan and the biggest party in the opposition. In democratic dispensations, the opposition is considered a government-in-waiting and has a complementary role in promoting and strengthening democracy and governance in the country. But a glance at the PML-N politics during the last five years presents a very dismal picture in regards to its credentials in promoting democracy and improving governance in the country. Except for a brief bonhomie with the PPP initially and cooperation with it on issues like constitutional amendments and the NFC Award (thanks to the policy of reconciliation by the PPP), it has mainly focused on bringing down the present regime.
@Jibran Not only 15 years, he and his brother remained in power for more than 15 years, and the economic explosion come to his family by setting up huge business units abroad,
If he is so sincere to the nation than why he doesn't shift his whole business to pakistan? Plz stop to cheat the nation.
Mian sahab is the lone Statesman today in Pakistan whose head is in perfect equilibrium. I respect him for his courage in saying "Pakistan should stop considering India as its biggest enemy"! That is the most pragmatic policy statement! Onward Ho, Mian sahab!
N-league is not a party but a group of people with identical vested interests. A party can not have a name after a person. There are many negative connotations associated with the word N; it gives the impression that party is somehow owned and ruled by a single person–Nawaz Sharif.A serious Democratic Party can’t have a name like Nawaz League. The second problem is somewhat similar to the first one, but it has the potential to become a big hurdle for PML-N when it comes to its unity; it has to do with the party revolving around a single family. In 1990s, the main problem that developed between Nawaz Sharif family and the Chaudris, had to do with the kind of absolute control Nawaz Sharif family had in PML-N. The prime example of it was when after 1997 elections, Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan and his brother Shahbaz Sharif became the Chief Minister of Punjab. It gave the impression that no one in party was worthy enough to have a higher level position, other than someone belonging to Nawaz Sharif family. Nawaz Sharif family will have to accept that if it wants PML-N to be successful party, the family has to gradually limit its role in the party. People like Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Captain Safdar and Hamza Shehbaz need to take a backseat and people mentioned above and others need to come forward. Also despite having a large vote-bank in urban areas, the party has very few urban non-bradri people in the party. PML-N despite its claims can not be Democratic Party as it is strongly occupied by Sharif family. Its manifesto is just to bestow upon family members. One still wonders what the worthy politicians like Javed Hashmi and others doing in PML-N. Why they are failing to understand to that there is great difference between a party and family group.
PTI’s leadership mainly consists of pranksters and stooges! The only positivity is overwhelming enthusiasm and sincere support of followers which I wish could meet the beautiful expectations…..huhhh
I am from mansehra.. I wanted to go to main sahab's jalsa to hear what he has to say... But could not due to some commitment... A lot of my friends and family went there... According to their feedback a large number of people turned out with most just wanted to hear what pml n has to say and some for the qeemay waalay naan... What ppp government has done in the last five years to this nation.... Every jalsa with free lunch will attract a huge crowd.... As a Mansehra local let me make it very clear that even after main sahab's jalsa mansehra people have not decided whom to vote for.... Still a good chance for pti I believe... But they need to come up with sound manifesto..
we want "change". does it ring a bell to you?
@farooq: You have mistaken it for MQM jalsa where even women do not talk or stir..
Economic explosion here means economic destruction :)
I know NS is next PM though i support IK's efforts.
It has been proved on several occasions and by several trustworthy sources, including Dr. A. Q. Khan, without any doubt, that Nawaz Shareef opposed the nuclear explosion till the last moment. It was only the military establishment who were in real control (and they still are) of this project and they forced NS to agree. It could had gone its way anyhow, even he had not agreed to it. Then why climing undue credit? But no surprise, if it comes from Mian Brothers.
The neck and neck competition between the great Khan and Nawaz Sharif is indeed very healthy for our country. It will push the other to perform better as he would be aware someone is breathing down his neck. Provided PPP doesn't benefit from this situation. God forbid.
What about the economic implosion in the last 5 years?
no passion and energy seen within the crowd ... useless speech and wasted everyone's time.. PTI ALL THE WAY
Miansahib is the lone Statesman in Pakistan whose head is in perfect equilibrium. I respect him for his courage in saying "Pakistan should stop considering India as its biggest enemy"! Onward Ho, Mian sahib!
For PTI, the 23rd March Jalsa was do or die, for which they gathered people from all over the country. Sorry correct that; all over the world. This is how they operate. Spend all their energies in holding a big jalsa then try and leverage that for political mileage mileage. In politically bankrupt Pakistan, this actually works. For PML(N), this is not the case. Their vote bank is not so mobile nor active. The Mansehra rally will essentially comprise Mansehra and its surrounds. For example, unlike PTI, it will not have caravans from Karachi. Therefore, the PML(n) rally is much much bigger than PTIs an should be a wake up call for IK and the little khanistas.
Somebody have thought that Pakistan was doing fine economically till it did nuclear explosion and sanctions were placed on it with India. India came up very strong during sanctions while we gone worse. These political leaders will continue to play with sentiments of people by exploiting various issues. Realistically, what problem do with we have with India? Is it only Kashmir issue or we want of whole of India to conquer? If its only Kashmir issue do we have what it takes to snatch whole of Kashmir and destroy ourselves in the process? I guess little bit of sane thinking will tell us that we cannot defeat India like Indians cannot defeat China. Indians are moving towards having friendly relations with China, believe it for both these countries their economy is main issue. Of course they continue to take defensive measures . But look at BRICS, RIC both have India and China along with Russia and we make ourselves stupid by springing up conspiracy theories. So, let's sit with all these countries , solve our issues and take care of our people.
Authority is not given to you to deny the Return of the King (Khan), Steward!
Mr Nawaz, Your nuclear "explosion" , has contributed to "economic implosion".
"The PML-N’s election symbol is a tiger and the rally featured a live tiger in a cage."
Could not stop laughing. If Nawaz is the real tiger then what is that poor tiger doing inside the cage ? Put Nawaz in!
Animal is their symbol (Lion/Tiger) and so are his thoughts about Weapons Of Destruction. Going nuclear without even basic needs of a common person resembles our priorities. This also shows majority's views about life and human values.
more like economic explosion in his bank account if he come sin power.
@raj do u really think this rally is bigger thn IK ?? 30,000 against imran's 150,000 ..? grow up
Qadam Barhao Nawaz Sharif. Hum Tumhaare Saath Hain. Long live Nawaz Sharif.
Me alongwith all my family and class fellows will vote for Nawaz Sharif. He is the only mature and visionary leader in Pakistan. All my best wishes for PML-N.
Allah bless Nawaz Sharif. He is the only hope of Pakistan. He alone is fighting with all parties of establishment including PTI, MQM, Q League, Musharraf and Tahir ul Qadri. I wish to say to Nawaz Sharif that he is not alone. All nation is with him. All youth is with him. Insha Allah he will win the elections with three fourth majority. ALLAH give him health and success. Aameen.
@Amber: You should educate yoursels.
PML N held out and ensured Khyber is added to the name, they are the only party that showed any resistance. IK, on the other hand, was actively supporting rename of NWFP on ethnic grounds - shame!
crowd looks bigger than IK jalsa . MNS doesnt need expensice tv advertisements and musical concerts to pull crowds . people love him for his leadership
& 5 years he will take care of normal explosions..
Please, I know us Pakistanis are capable of looking outside this box that the Nawaz Sharifs and Zardaris have thrown over us. Just imagine what Pakistan would be like if we had a leader like Imran Khan!!! This is our chance or we can only blame ourslelves if we Khudanakhasta, once again end up sitting in our living without electricity and violence everywhere we look. Come on, these people have had their chance and they have brought nothing but misery to our lives. Please vote for Imran Khan, Pakistan Zindabad!
Wow! Tens of thousands of PML-N supporters standing in heat, contrast this with 50,000+ chairs made available for the diehard PTI supporters, some of them couldn't get parking closer to the rally and had to walk couple of a kilometers in yesterday's lahore rally!!
I am just amazed on your shameless behaviour Mian sahib, “I am not fond of power, I only want to see my country progressing and my people prosper" yeah well said, but people have not forget that it was you who just want to become a prime minster for the 3rd time, and want to passed 18th amendment by selling the hazara people. Now how you can say that i will be happy for Hazara province. And these are the people who have not let you enter in hazara 2 years back .
Mia Sahib should know that no economic explosion is possible in Pakistan until bomb explosions and sectarian violence is stopped in the country which would be most difficult to achieve having taken sectarian forces as his allies.
"I am not fond of power, I only want to see my country progressing and my people prosper,” he told the crowd"
Yeah Right!!!
I believe this country can perform better under Imran Khan so you just relax and quit politics.
One thing I don't understand is that why everyone come to Save Pakistan during election times only?
"We don't need no, new explosion" (To the tune of of 'Another brick in the wall')
Let it go, Mian Sahab. You've had plenty of chances and your work rate goes up when the appraisal time comes :)
This time, IK/PTI deserves a chance.
A large gathering but without any enthusiasm. It seemed as if some one forced the participants to come.
Surely the gathering is less but real voters are ten times more than Lahore's concert.
@S: Totally disagree!
@gujranwala789: PTI are no match to PMLN. true, very true, even in next 10 centuries PML-N could never be able to match the stature of PTI. PTI is not a family ltd party where chairman's sons will take the reign just like Miriam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz are being groomed to take over where as the party worker is still carrying flag poles and chanting slogans to appease.
People are against zardari as he is the most hated figure throughout the country and PMLN after coming into power will hold him accountable for his sins of last 5 years.
If people are so much against AZ then why did your party endorse him for 5 years. Will you hold him accountable just like Nawaz Sharif (admittedly) did during his tenure by fabricating cases against his opponents?
@Naeem Khan totally agree!
It is quite encouraging that the people of pakistan are supporting the genuine leadership of Nawaz sharif, he is a statesman and is well respected by the masses in pakistan. The internet parties cannot defeat Nawaz sharif, he lives in the heart of the people. Pakistan of today is leaning towards center-right ideolog and Nawaz sharif is the face of center-right conservative party PMLN. Pakistan will only prosper under the center-right conservative party like PMLN because they represent the aspirations, ethics and values that are dear to the largest segment of our society. The parties that organize musical concerts and call them as political gathering (read PTI) are no match to PMLN. People are against zardari as he is the most hated figure throughout the country and PMLN after coming into power will hold him accountable for his sins of last 5 years.
Oh Yeah, sure there will be economic explosion this time around, last time during your tenure our foreign exchange accounts were frozen and taken over while you, your family and friends sent money abroad before freezing our accounts.NO MORE. Pakistani people are smart enough to see through you old politicians who are the product of Army Dictators.When would you bring back the money you have stashed in overseas banks.Time has changed and this gimmickry won't work this time because the young generation is looking for change and change will come.
in his jalsas they all wear same kinda clothes
The first Nawaz Sharif Government, 1990-1993 was performing well and the economy was being shaped to successfully lessen dependence on foreign aid, Sartaj Aziz, one of the best brains of Pakistan was the architect. Then in 1993 the struggle between the presidency and the premiership got the better of Pakistan and the slide since then has caused immense damage to the country. In terms of economic performance, the second Nawaz Sharif Government was not as successful as the first. But Musharraf's performance was much worse, only looks better now because of the dismal performance of the just ended PPP Government. People have a short memory and do not compare performance over a longer period of time and hence do not remember that the nation was doing quite well from the time of the first Benazir Government (1988) until the uprooting of democracy in 1999. However, the prognosis is not very promising. PTI, PML (Q), PPP, and PML (N) are going to share seats in the Punjab and no party is likely to emerge with a clear majority. PPP would perform very well in Sindh and be the beneficiary of divided votes in the Punjab. Both of these developments would bring back PPP's rule with coalition partners, as before. No matter who wins, no political leadership has the capability to lessen Pakistan's problems. As things get worse people would come out in droves and within five years the country is likely to witness a people's revolution, a genuine one this time. This revolution would clean up the mess Pakistan is in.
@ Blithe, We, the supporters of Mian Sahib don't comment on someone's personal life. Infact I liked Imran Khan in those days. I started disliking him when he became a Mullah.
I've been trying to sell a piece of land in sahiwal for 6 months now and I've already spent 150,000 in rishwat just to get a fard from the patwari. I had to get a police clearnace certificate - had to spend 2,000 rupees in rishwat when the fee itself is what, 150-200.
Come on yaar who are we kidding here with that "show me an iota of corruption" You must be a bureaucrat's kid with all his stuff done thru someone you know. Go out on the street and try to get some government work done without paying a crapload for it first.
how ? by crashing the economy ?
@Lahore-Kashmiri: DJ Butt? Did you take care of the sound system?
I want to hire you.
@Usman Lakhani: PML N is not in power in KPK. PML N is real power, future of Pakistan
In case you didnt know there wasnt a PML govt in KPK and also a caretaker setup is up and running in KPK why would the patwaris come for NS's jalsa?! Also the PML govt in Punjab is also over so that goes out the window. We as a people need to be more tolerant and realize that a lot of people have support in Pakistan and we are a divided nation, just cause you can access the internet doesnt mean all the support is for people you support,
@Naeem: Yes thats exactly why, it was a novelty for them.
Here he comes again to try and make a fool out of us! I am sorry Mr. NS, but we want a change and don't want tried and test materials.
@Samir: And his daughter to be in politics too.
Tyrian Khan for Foreign Minster if PTI comes to power!
@Blithe
You spelled Sita wrong. If your'e going to resort to personal attacks, at least do it with some dignity...
Mr.Sharif, would you care to tell the nation what all was done with the " Qarz Utaro, Mulk Sunwaro " money that ordinary poor people contributed to. We all got our accounts frozen and your kids got to send hundreds of millions pounds, via hundi... and you claim that you want to come back to serve.. no thank you sir, We now have a Kaptaan!!
Beware of this guy. If he'll explose economic bomb. this time he will freeze all current, Saving, Foriegn and every type of account.
@Jibran: By the way , all the infrastructure projects help Pakistanis across the board. We need infrastructure, not encourage beggary through BISP.
Catapulted by General Pasha, IK was laughed to break league vortes and help PPP.
Is this the biggest jalsa in the history of Pakistan or what?
You mean the same economic explosion that you have done in punjab in the last 5 years??last time I checked punjab's growth rate was less than rest of Pakistan. Its unfortunate that a shallow man like nawaz sharif is still considered a leader in Pakistan. For a man to continously talk about motorways and explosions suggests that he has no clue what pakistan's problems are, he is only focused on facelifting and cosmetic solutions like building buses and roads.
@Ali: That's uncalled . Name one iota of corruption in Punjab!
This blatant lying on your part is very unbecoming .
Another Patwari jalsa with empty promises.
If you cannot handle your police to torture innocent then how can you bring rule of law in whole country. We dont need your fake commitments. Nothing new for us. We Need the Legend Imran Khan
maybe people came to see the caged live tiger!
PML n will emerge with majority and form next government , inshallah.
Mian Sahib has vision, experience and passion to do it. Vote for Mian Sahib.
Why are all his Jalsas on weekdays? Because Patwaris don't work weekdays!
We're done with this nuclear rhetoric. Leave the poor folk of Pakistan alone Mr Sharif. We've all seen the nuclear explosion of good governance that you've achieved in Punjab. I pray that a truly non-corrup government comes into power and holds you accountable for all the ill you've spread across the nation in 25 years of your rule
Keep it up. Mr. Nawaz Sharif. PML-N can promise a Asian Tiger Pakistan.
Rhetoric aside, what has his party done for the poor in the last 5 years? And what he did in his previous stints in power, other than stuffing his and his comrades' pockets, and then laundering that money out of the country? Come on, I need to know what was in those 40 suitcases that he took with him while flying to Saroor Palace in Jeddah.
economic explosion? like the one in Punjab that you gave us in your parties 5 long year tenure? No thank you, everyone in my neighbourhood is going to vote for PTI!
Please spare us this time..
looks like this rally is 10 times bigger than imran's raly