Shehbaz vows PML-N 'surprise' in election

As the political temperature is rising ahead of the sought-after polls, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday his party would “surprise” everyone in the February 8 election.

“The people will decide the fate of Pakistan on February 8 [...] we will take the country forward under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif,” Shehbaz Sharif told reporters in Lahore.

The PML-N, as per political actors and analysts, has kept its electioneering low-key, however, the party’s senior leadership has started holding corner meetings, giving interviews, and providing their narrative on the media.

With the party supremo, Nawaz Sharif, back in Pakistan after nearly four years of exile, the PML-N believes it has got a much-needed boost — given the dismal performance during the 16-month tenure of the coalition government, headed by Shehabz.

The party has also fielded 208 candidates for the 266 National Assembly general seats up for grabs. Meanwhile, overall for the five legislatures, the PML-N has issued 671 tickets out of the 859 seats.

In the interaction with journalists, Shehbaz said he was confident of his party securing sufficient seats to form government in the centre as his elder brother Nawaz eyes becoming the prime minister for a record fourth time.

Senior PML-N leader Ishaq Dar, talking to Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada a day earlier, also said the PML-N expects to win more than two-thirds of the seats up for grabs in the National Assembly.

“It does not mean that we would not want other parties, seeking to rescue the country from the ongoing turmoil, to join forces with us,” Dar, a former finance minister, said, hoping that political parties would strengthen PML-N’s position post February 78.

For Pakistan’s economic recovery, Shehbaz said under his brother’s leadership, the country saw exceptional growth. The former prime minister promised that the PML-N supremo would work “day and night” to ensure that Pakistan sees those days again.

“Nawaz Sharif is of the firm opinion that Pakistan has to be taken forward through consultation,” the PML-N president said. He also blamed the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for derailing the economy and hurting Islamabad’s ties with other nations.