LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday ‘selected’ Prime Minister Imran Khan had destroyed the country’s economy and made Pakistanis’ life miserable.

“(The) opposition’s struggle is not against PM Khan but against those who have imposed such an incapable and mindless person upon the nation through a manipulated electoral process,” he reiterated his line while addressing the PML-N’s Central Working Committee (CWC) at Model Town via video link from London.

The former prime minister sought a pledge from the partymen that they will stand with him in his struggle to ‘save the country’. “They made him the prime minister with ( a margin of just) four votes and expect us to (stand and) watch all this helplessly. Are we deaf and dumb? We cannot remain silent at this juncture,” he said. “This ( tendency to remain silent) is the reason for our downfall and for the woes of the country.”

Saying that Pakistan was the most backward country in South Asia at the moment, he said those who brought Imran Khan to power were equally responsible for what has followed. “They are also responsible for the devaluation of Pakistani currency and unprecedented inflation and price hike,” he said.

Hitting out at the PTI government over its `complete failure’ to control inflation and poverty, Mr Sharif said that during his own tenure as premier the economy was stable and the people were far better off than they are now. “Today I am pained to see the people suffering because of poverty. He (Imran) had promised to give 10million jobs but over 10m have been rendered jobless during the last one year alone. People cannot afford to send their children to schools and to pay utility bills. Is this the state of Madina?” he asked and said the PTI government had failed on all fronts.

“During our tenure we not only made the economy strong but also the defence of the country. It is a pity that today Pakistan does not have the support of even four countries and fails to get a resolution passed. Imran Khan claims himself ambassador of Kashmir but has done nothing for it,” he said.

Referring to the motorway and Nankana Sahib rape incidents, he said criminals were roaming freely as there was no law and order in the country.

Nawaz Sharif also warned that efforts should not be made to silence him as he could not be silenced.

Meanwhile, anticipating her possible arrest, Mr Sharif’s daughter Mayram Nawaz told a presser here if she and other PML-N leader were arrested, Nawaz Sharif would lead the anti-government campaign from London.

“There is no case against me. However, I am booked under terrorism charges in the case where I was attacked outside the NAB Lahore office. If I and other party leaders are arrested, Nawaz Sharif will lead the protest campaign against the government from London,” she said and warned that the arrests could only unite the PML-N.

Talking about the premier, she said: “Weak and incapable Imran Khan has come to power through a conspiracy. I do not consider this government legitimate, therefore, a dialogue cannot be held with it.” She said those being labeled as traitors in fact were patriots. She defended her father saying he did not say anything sensitive related to the country’s defence rather he made the country’s defence invincible. “Nawaz Sharif faced everything like news leaks and sit-in but now when the institutions are being made hostage he decided to speak the truth,” she said and added that it was alleged in the past that Punjab always submitted to the establishment. “Now Punjab has washed that slur,” she said.

To a question about PML-N leader Khawaja Asif’s statement about Asif Zaradri that he did not trust him (Zardari) in the effective role of the PPP in the newly-formed Pakistan Democratic Alliance, Ms Nawaz said Nawaz Sharif had ensured that PML-N, PPP and other opposition parties would move together against the PTI government.

Meanwhile, Khwaja Asif has sought apology for his statement against Zardari. “My statement was taken out of context. However I apologise if someone is hurt,” he said.

The PML-N also announced holding rallies in Punjab. The first rally will be held in Lahore’s Regal Chowk on Oct 3 primarily to protest against the arrest of its president Shahbaz Sharif. Maryam Nawaz will lead the rally in Gujranwala on Oct 16.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2020