LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif Saturday criticised his political opponent Imran Khan and said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief speaks of change but takes orders from ‘above’.
“Does the order from above refer to Bani Gala?” Nawaz questioned, while addressing leaders of party’s Gujranwala and Faisalabad divisions. “We shouldn’t engage in politics if we want to take orders from ‘above’,” he remarked, adding that such behaviour is hypocritical.
He remarked that Imran used to call Pakistan People’s Party supremo Asif Ali Zardari a ‘disease’ yet he voted for the arrow (the electoral symbol of PPP) in Senate elections.
The former premier advised the PML-N leaders to start preparing for the upcoming general elections. “I don’t know what will happen in the future. I don’t know where I will be after 10 to 15 days. However, no matter what the circumstances are my ideology will not change,” he remarked.
He stressed that the people must change their mindsets in order to move forward. “We will have to change our perception of things and our way of thinking,” he said. “If we have been unable to bring about any substantial reforms in the last 70 years, then today we should apologise and seek forgiveness from the Almighty and take steps and make amends,” he said.
The former premier said that people’s vote must be respected. He questioned if there has been a single prime minister in Pakistan’s history who was able to complete his/her tenure. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir, Nawaz Sharif, none of them completed their tenure as prime minister, he said, adding “this happens only in Pakistan. I have not seen something like this in any other country.”
Nawaz said that there is no substance in the cases against him, adding that the witnesses’ statements have made the case of his family stronger.
Nawaz said that when PML-N came into power, the economy was at 3.9%, but the party worked for the country and took the economy to 5.8%. “However, the projections for the next years are lower.” “A country that was on the path to progress is going to be going backwards now,” he lamented.
Nawaz said that the country hasn’t learnt from the past. “In 1971, we lost East Pakistan. Now Bangladesh’s currency is worth more than ours,” he said. “We must look at ourselves in the mirror and learn from our lessons. If we don’t, then misfortune will be our destiny. We must act on what we preach,” he added.
Commenting on the lawmakers who have recently deserted the party, Nawaz said, “Certain forces are trying to break our party. They [lawmakers] abandoned us because they never were ours.”
“Shehbaz performed splendidly in the province. He’s a victim of his own success,” Nawaz commented, adding that the time for elections is near and those working and loyal to the ruling party must step up.
Nawaz expressed that he would finally put an end to the perception that electoral victory could be achieved by enlisting the help of ‘hidden hands’. He hoped that his party would win the upcoming elections through the support of workers and public.
Published in Daily Times, April 29th 2018.
