CHAKWAL: Former prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that the disqualification verdict against him by the apex court had spread chaos in the country.
He was talking to a gathering of tribal elders in Chakwal, where he also spoke to the media about the current political climate.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has been faithfully served the people of the country over the past four years. Everyone saw how well we have served in the previous four years. People know my mission, explanations about it are not necessary. We have ended load-shedding in Pakistan and restored peace to Karachi.”
Nawaz Sharif recounted how he had been exiled from the country after the military-led coup in 1999. “You know how we were evicted from the country. My father died during the exile. Where are the people who steered the country towards darkness?” he said.
He said that the decision against him by the top court in the country had disqualified the PM not on grounds of corruption, but an imaginary salary.
“The case was registered against me on the Panama scandal, and I was disqualified based on ‘Iqama’,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif also challenged opponents to prove even a Rs 10 corruption charge against him.
“I want to forget the old wounds for the sake of the people in Pakistan,” Sharif said.
“Not a single penny of corruption has been proven against me and during our rule during the past four years,” he said, while addressing a memorial reference for Chaudhry Liaquat Ali in Chakwal Monday.
He reaffirmed his stance on the SC verdict to disqualify him by saying that the Iqama was reasoned for his ouster while the case filed in the top court was regarding the Panama Papers offshore accounts.
While talking about the state of power supply, Nawaz said ever since his party came to power, they freed the country of the load-shedding by initiating a large number of power projects.
He added that an uninterrupted power supply and strong road network played a fundamental role in a country’s progress, which was why his vision included focusing on power and infrastructure. “People should not forget the faces of those who plunged the country into darkness.”
Nawaz said they started the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, under which investment of $56 billion was brought to the country.
“One should go and see the heights to which progress work in the country was reaching. The travel time between Chakwal and Islamabad has been halved – earlier it would take three hours while now it takes an hour and a half,” he said.
The PML-N leader said people came closer when distances among them were shortened.
The ousted premier voiced concerns on the law and order situation in the country, adding that only the people should decide how the country should be run. “Our vision is to build roads and motorways,” he said.
He directed the party workers to stand up against injustice, warning that the public mandate should not be crushed beneath the feet.
The ex-PM has been addressing various gatherings and public rallies in the country to garner support for himself and his party after the announcement of the Panamagate verdict.
Earlier, Nawaz had addressed a gathering in Kot Momin near Sargodha, along with daughter Maryam. She had accused political opponents of hiding behind state-institutions and the apex court. Maryam Nawaz had alleged that the political opponents were extremely afraid of the massive love for ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Taking a jibe at chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, she had said that the PTI chief attempted to appear on television on daily basis to utter lies.
“Mian Nawaz Sharif worked at a stretch to eliminate 20-hour long power cuts despite sit-ins and lock downs. He fulfilled promises made during electoral campaign.”
Published in Daily Times, January 9th 2018.
