Blasting the government for its policies “taking the country to the brink of destruction”, opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the Naya Pakistan of PTI government's era was in fact far behind the 'purana (old) Pakistan'.

Addressing a rally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — a multiparty alliance of the opposition — in Swat, Sharif said the present state of affairs was "not the country envisioned by our founders who sacrificed their lives for it" and that a revolution was needed against poverty, inflation, oppression and the current system.

“If this resolution doesn’t come about, then we won’t be able to get ourselves accepted at the international level,” he added.

It was the first public gathering of the PDM in several months as attempts were reportedly underway by the PML-N and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl to revive the alliance and unite all opposition forces especially after the PPP quit it in the mid of April.

In his address to the rally today, the PML-N president said the incumbent government had claimed to build five million houses for the poor, and also promised to create 10m jobs, but in fact “hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs in PTI’s three years of power.” He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had vowed to bring prosperity to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but “all his promises have turned out to be hollow.”

He also took exception to the premier's absence from the parliament, saying he was never seen in assembly sessions which were called to discuss matters of public importance. “The people of KPK are generous and literate and it’s surprising to note as to what prompted people who voted Khan into power,” he added.

He alleged that while loadshedding had virtually ended during the PML-N tenure, “all of the PTI government’s pledges to rid the country of power outages proved to be an eyewash.”

Hitting out at the prime minister for his recent statement in which he had said there would no longer be any need for nuclear deterrents once the Kashmir issue was resolved, Sharif said “atomic power is our defence. The enemy who wanted to raze us is now scared just because it knows we can trample it."

Also taking a dig at the premier for his popular catchphrase ‘Ghabrana Nahi Hai (Do not worry)’, he told the rally participants that it was high time to be worried and send the government packing.

“If you do not vote this government out, it will destroy the country,” he alleged.

Sharif said Imran used to claim that disbursement of laptops among students was a bribe. “But the same laptops are now helping students in their studies and professional work,” he maintained.

He said the PML-N with the collaboration of the PDM will take KP ahead of Punjab.

Sharif said the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project often faced different issues and alleged that several billion rupees were looted under this project in Peshawar. “If this BRT was conceived under the leadership of Mian Nawaz Sharif, it would have been built much earlier,” he claimed.

He also criticised the government for getting most of the Covid-19 vaccines in the country through donations, saying it was due to its unwise policies that the country had been left "at the mercy of others".

He recalled that medicines were provided free of charge to people across Punjab during PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's tenure, saying a hospital built by the PML-N in Lahore was made a central vaccination centre by the PTI. He further said that the PML-N government's efforts had led to the production of 14,000MW electricity through different sources which helped the country overcome the loadshedding crisis.

Sharif said Prime Minister Imran had claimed that his government would build 350 mini dams across KP to provide people with cheaper electricity, “but they are nowhere to be found”.

'Fired cartridge'

Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman began his address by calling the government “illegitimate”, saying it should quit in the greater interest of the public.

He said he had been insisting for a long time that “Imran Khan is an unnecessary component” of Pakistani politics. Referring to the recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, he claimed that the premier had not been invited to the important huddle, “and that showed the actual worth of his government”.

He said such governments should not be imposed on independent people. “Our ancestors fought against the British rule and we will not accept this government,” he added.

He claimed that the government’s days were numbered, and alleged that Prime Minister Imran spoke against the United States and United Kingdom in some of his speeches "only to popularise himself among the public".

“But I must say that he is a ‘fired cartridge’ that has no life,” he alleged.

He mocked the premier for speaking against former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, saying “it was the same man who supported Musharraf when he was in power.”

He further said that the policies of the current government had led to a reduction in foreign investments in the country.