Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly said that had the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government not helped the country avert a sovereign default, the price of one litre of petrol would have been Rs1,000.

According to him, his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), put at risk its political capital to save the country from default. “In fact we paid the price of saving Pakistan from default. However, I can give in writing that in elections we will win,” Nawaz Sharif has been quoted as saying by the media.

In my view, while it is debatable whether or not the PDM government’s economic policymaking actually worked towards helping the country successfully avert default or some “external factors” were behind the country’s success, the former three-time prime minister’s optimism does not appear to be misplaced.

That current woes of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) seem to have suddenly brightened the prospects of PML-N in Punjab in particular is a fact. The PML-N is now likely to reclaim some if not the entire space that it has lost to PTI in KPK in 2018.

Insofar as Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) prospects in Punjab are concerned, it doesn’t appear to be overly confident because of all the right reasons.

In my view, the likely return of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif from London on Oct 21 will give a much-needed boost to party’s electoral prospects. At present, the PML-N is working hard; it is, however, required to harder.

Saleem Randhava, Lahore

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023