Nawaz slams ‘gang of five’ for conspiring against his govt

LALAMUSA/SIALKOT: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said he was wrongfully punished without any reason, slamming the judges who were involved in issuing verdicts against him.

“What was the need to conspire against us? What was the need for judges to give a decision against us?” said Nawaz during a workers convention at party leader Khawaja Asif’s residence in Sialkot.

“The representative of millions of people was overthrown by the Gang of Five (retired Gen Bajwa, retired Lt Gen Faiz, Imran Khan, Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa),” said the three-time prime minister.

Nawaz said the total duration he spent facing legal battles, imprisonments and exile might surpass his time at the prime minister house, adding that he “never gave up”.

Nawaz asked whether the punishments were a response to Pakistan’s economic development, prevalence of yellow taxis, diminishing poverty rates or the nation’s remarkable progress compared to its neighbours.

The PMLN Quaid lamented that a series of punishments against him and his party had continued since 2017 and ended only a few days ago. “Our government was terminated without any reason,” he said.

“How will a country run where prime ministers change every day, are thrown in jails, face hardships of deportation, false trials and false convictions,” he asked. “Now we have no room for error,” he asserted.

Expressing his regret over the disruptions in the trajectory of Pakistan’s growth, the PMLN supremo pointed out the country could have been a global powerhouse if not for the abrupt changes in leadership and political turmoil.

He spoke of the prosperous state of Pakistan in 2017 when the rupee was robust, inflation was minimal, basic commodities were affordable, and major projects, like CPEC, were advancing swiftly.

Acknowledging the collective responsibility for the country’s current state, Nawaz Sharif urged for a collective effort to repair the damage inflicted. He reflected on the society and culture, expressing concern over its deterioration and introduction of individuals who, in his view, lacked the capacity to lead.

“In 2017, a person did not come but was brought. Those who brought him are as responsible as the person himself is.” Earlier, addressing local industrialists and exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the PMLN supremo said Pakistan’s exports might have crossed $300 billion if his party’s governments had not been toppled in 1990s.

The three-time prime minister said that untimely and unfair removals of elected governments in the country had not only badly affected the national economy and disturbed the people through inflation and price hike but also virtually stopped the way to achieve the goal of collective national progress.

Nawaz was of the view that currently we were lagging far behind many countries we had been leading in the general progress and prosperity before 2017. He said that revival and progress of the industry and business had always been at the top of PMLN agenda. The party had a firm belief that without progress of industry and promoting exports and business activities, the general condition of common people and overall economic situation in the country could not be improved.

He said the PMLN had actually won the general elections of 2018 but “false dis-functioning” RTS deprived it of a certain victory. He said that such negative tactics in 2018 also barred the PMLN from forming its government in Punjab, despite its victory in the most populous province of the country.

Nawaz claimed that after employing all the resources and powers in a negative way, PMLN rival, the PTI, could manage only four or five more seats in the National Assembly. He said the PMLN not only made Pakistan the sole superpower in the Muslim world by conducting nuclear tests back in late 1990s but after coming to power in 2013, it dealt an iron blow to terrorism in the country, restoring peace and order in Karachi.

He said his party’s government ended the prolonged problem of power load-shedding through the National Action Plan and other effective measures. He said that in its last tenure, the PMLN government won historic and much lucrative CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) from China despite crippling, useless and disturbing sit-inns from its rivals.

He charged that the last government of PTI had not only derailed the country from the track to progress through its ineffective and non-serious policies but it also badly damaged the social values and culture by promoting abusive language and levelling baseless accusations against their rivals.

He said that in order to achieve long-term progress, every individual and institution needed to join hands and ensure sincere and selfless following of the Constitution. Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, PMLN Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, former ministers Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, SCCI President Abdul Ghafoor Malik, and other were also present.

Nawaz emphasised the importance of avoiding repeated mistakes. He said Sialkot has an airport and an airline but it needs further development. “Today, if Sialkot exports are worth two and a half million dollars, I wish that this city exports two and a half billion dollars. Now we will rebuild Pakistan.”

In his closing remarks, he underscored the significance of protecting the nation from elements that could undermine its societal values and civilisation, reaffirming his commitment to Pakistan’s enduring value and potential for greatness.