Nawaz to turn Pakistan into a progressive state if people of Pak gave him another opportunity to lead country in next elections: PM Shehbaz
LAHORE, July 16 (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would turn Pakistan into a progressive state if the people of Pakistan gave him another opportunity to lead the country in next elections.
“Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, we have delivered on ground and those who were conspiring against the state had got their conspiracies buried,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said while addressing a cheques distribution ceremony under the Prime Minister Youth Business and Agriculture Loan scheme.
He said if given an opportunity in the upcoming general elections, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the entire leadership of the PML-N Pakistan Muslim League-N, would change destiny of the country by taking it on the path of progress and prosperity.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said they would accept the public mandate in the upcoming polls and urged the people to take their decisions after looking into certain facts and by juxtaposing the performance of the PML-N governments with that of the PTI’s four years’ saga of destruction.
Lauding the statesmanship qualities of his elder brother, the premier regretted that former prime minister and his leader Nawas Sharif was ousted from power despite the fact that he had ended 20 hours long crippling load shedding, provided laptops and loans to youth, brought multi-billions China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) power and road infrastructure projects during 2015.
On the other hand, the PTI chairman had phobia about PML-N leadership and the opposition as day in and day out, he was bent upon putting them in jails with framing of fake cases, he said, adding the PTI leader could not assimilate the revolutionary steps taken by the PML-N government.
All the youth programmes, he said were started during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif as alone 50,000 vehicles were provided to the people on merit across Punjab province. The success of loan scheme could be gauged from the fact that 99 percent loans were returned back to banks, he added.
The prime minister maintained that Nawaz Sharif and they had experienced worst kind of political vendetta, even they were sent on exile after outer from power, but unlike Imran Niazi, the PML-N Quaid never thought of anything against the country.
The prime minister elaborated that the person [the PTI chief] who was brought to power through a fraud elections, kept on chanting the corruption charges during his four years’ tenure but did not prove them, adding but when he was removed from power corridors through a constitutional manner, he used dirty language and tactics against the state institutions.
The prime minister mentioned that the PTI’s tenure was tainted with huge corruption scams including sugar and wheat scams, BRT Peshawar, Malam Jabba, sale of Toshakhana gifts, Rs 50 to 60 billion money embezzlement returned by the UK agency, etc and said that no one could deny these stark facts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the reduction in petroleum product prices has been possible due to the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar. The PM attributed the price decrease to a positive impact of the recent standby agreement with the IMF. He added that if the agreement had not materialized, the economy would not have improved.
Shehbaz Sharif said all conspiracies against the country had been buried by Almighty Allah, adding the IMF program is not “halwa or laddoo perray”. “The IMF program is very challenging. We have to implement it with sacrifice and hard work,” the PM added. “We will accept whoever the public chooses,” Shehbaz Sharif stressed.
He also rejected the allegations that the laptops distributed by the government were bribes, adding that they were being given out on merit.
He said that during the PTI government, loans worth $3 billion were taken at an interest rate of 4% and personal coffers filled. Shehbaz Sharif remarked that revenge was taken in the name of accountability in the country.
He said that conspiracies hatched against the country have been buried as now everyone knows why Muhammad Nawaz Shairf has been deprived of power. He recalled that Former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif gave laptops in the hands of youth instead of Kalashnikoff.
He added the PML N government committed to empower the youth of the country as empowering them was a key to ensure the development and prosperity of Pakistan.
He said currently Pakistan is passing through difficult economic challenges, but with the help of Almighty Allah and hard work of the youth, we will be able to come out of these challenges.
He urged the masses to keep in their minds the destruction caused to the county during the last four years while casting their votes in upcoming elections. They should cast their votes on the basis of facts. He said that people’s decisions will be accepted with letter and spirit during the upcoming elections.
Addressing the ceremony, Punjab Governor Engineer Mian Muhammad Balighur Rehman said millions of laptops have been given to students on merit and this revolutionary Program has been appreciated at international level.
He regretted that during the tenure of previous government, education and health sectors have been badly ignored during.
During the ceremony, success stories of beneficiaries of this loan scheme were also showcased.
Earlier, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs, Shiza Fatima Khawaja said, so-far, loans have been issued on easy conditions to one million youth of the country.
Meanwhile Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafiq called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore on Sunday. During the meeting, issues related to the ministry and overall political situation of the country were discussed.
The Minister apprised Prime Minister about the progress on outsourcing and PIA reforms to provide better airport services.
Moreover, the Minister briefed Prime Minister on ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and China on the restructuring of the National Aviation Policy and the ML-1 project.