LAHORE: Emphasising the need for starting a new journey, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and the former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif Saturday said all the pillars of State needed to work together. “Everyone needs to think over problems posed to the country and work together to remove the problems that affect the country again and again,” he said while addressing a big public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan.
In the rally, party workers from across the country including Sindh, Balochistan, KPK, AJK, Gilgit Baltistan, and different parts of Punjab participated.
Nawaz said the people of Pakistan are facing difficulties. “We need to focus on the reasons and, according to the spirit of the Constitution, make a plan for the future together,” he said.
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On reaching the stage, the PML-N supremo was given warm reception by the party workers chanting full throated slogans in his favour. Nawaz hugged Maryam Nawaz, Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders on stage and turned emotional. Maryam gave respect to her father by touching his feet in front of large audience.
Addressing the emotionally charged party supporters and workers, he said he has a wish to see a prosperous and dignified Pakistani nation. He made it clear although he faced many injustices but I have no wish for revenge. “We need to begin a new journey, we need to decide on how we will get our lost position back, how we will have to run on double speed, how we will have to break the begging bowl forever, how we will have to stand on our feet, how we will have to make a strong foreign policy and create good relations with the neighbours and rest of the world.
Showing his affection with the people, the PML-N- supremo said: “I am meeting you today after several years, but my relationship of love with you is the same. There is no difference in this relationship. The love I am seeing in your eyes, I am proud of it.”
He said he never betrayed his supporters nor did he shy from any kind of sacrifice. He recalled how fake cases were framed against him and his party leaders but no one abandoned the PML-N flag. He especially mentioned Rana Sanaullah and Hanif Abbasi who faced fake cases of death penalty.
He posed a question to the people who separated Nawaz Sharif from his nation. He said, “We are those who built Pakistan. We made Pakistan an atomic power. We brought an end to load shedding.” He also mentioned the impediments he faced at the time of making Pakistan an atomic power. “There will be record present in the Foreign Office that the US President Clinton offered me $5 billion for not conducting atomic explosion, I could have been offered $1 billion too, but I am born from the land of Pakistan and this did not give me permission to accept what is against Pakistan’s favour. I am so of this soil, he said, adding: “Do we get punished for this? Are verdicts announced against us for this reason?”
He further stated if Pakistan was run on his 1990 economic model, not a single person would have been unemployed, there would be no such thing as poverty but today, the conditions are so bad that one has to think if they can feed their children or pay electricity bills.
He responded to the crowd sentiments and said I know you want to hear that I love you too. “Today, trust me, after seeing your love, I have forgotten all my grief and pain. I don’t even want to remember. But, there are some wounds that can’t ever heal.” He said he had forgotten the past after seeing the public’s love, but quoted a verse from Ghalib: “Zindagi apni kuch is shakal se guzri ghalib, hum bhi kya yaad karain gain k khuda rakhte they.”
Nawaz further said the PML-N was asked about its narrative. “Ask this from the Orange Line, ask this from Green Line, ask this from the motorway, ask our narrative from the Chagai atomic bombs, ask our narrative from the dollar rate, ask our narrative from our morals.”
He also stated that in his political career he spent about 15 years in exile and jail. He recalled how he couldn’t pay the final respects to his mother and father. He said when he was in jail, I came to know that my wife in ICU but despite repeated requests to the jail superintendent ne telephonic contact was allowed. “I kept thinking how difficult it was for him to just arrange a phone call. After 2.5 hours, jail superintendent number 2 man came and told me that my wife has passed away,” Nawaz said, adding that he had stopped them from telling the news to Maryam.
He also waved two copies of electricity bills, which he claimed were from May 2016 and August 2022, and highlighted the exorbitant increase in them. “Was this done by Shehbaz Sharif? I am not defending him, I am presenting fact she said.”
Nawaz also expressed solidarity with Palestinians and urged the international community to provide them justice. “Even for the Kashmir solution, we will have to work in an honourable way, he said.”
Earlier Shehbaz Sharif addressed the gathering and paid tributes to Nawaz Sharif for his services for the country and countrymen. He also changed slogans in favour of Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier, Nawaz arrived at the Lahore airport from Islamabad. He was welcomed by his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Salman Shehbaz and other party leaders at the airport. Then Nawaz moved to the Lahore Fort through a helicopter which also had a round of Minar-e-Pakistan before landing at the Lahore Fort with Shehbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar and other party leaders. Nawaz was taken to the venue of public meeting in a vehicle driven by Hamza Shehbaz.
The party songs enthralled the participants of the meeting where apart from PML-N flags, the flags of Palestine and AJK were placed. Ahead of Nawaz’s arrival at Minar-e-Pakistan, Maryam Nawaz said the people from across Pakistan had gathered at Minar-i-Pakistan today.
“I thought Minar-i-Pakistan was a huge venue, but I didn’t know it would turn out to be small for PML-N supporters,” she said, adding all the roads, motorways and streets are choked.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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