LAHORE: Former premier and PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif Saturday stressed on improving relations with neighbouring countries, including India and Afghanistan, and further strengthening ties with Iran and China to pursue a more effective diplomacy on the world stage and raise the country’s international status.
Nawaz was speaking at the 6th meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, held here for finalising the names of PMLN candidates in various districts for the upcoming elections.
“How is it possible to achieve global status if your neighbours are upset with you, or you with them,” he asked. “We have to mend our relations with India and Afghanistan and strengthen them further with Iran and China.”
The PMLN supremo said the government should not just focus on economic obligations but display its performance in every sector. He recalled that the country had done quite well during his past tenures in all the fields, including defence and foreign affairs.
Nawaz Sharif recalled that two Indian prime ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Narendra Modi in 2015, visited Pakistan during his past tenures. “Did anyone visit [Pakistan] before them,” he asked.
Nawaz Sharif said during his tenure as the prime minister, from 2013 to 2017, the country was thriving and the economy was improving, but vested interests threw him out and handed over the country to an incompetent person. He said the country had seen a difficult time in the last four years. “There were some elements who stopped the country from thriving,” he added.
The PMLN governments always performed well, but he was always ousted from power, Nawaz said and added that he wanted to know why his governments were overthrown in 1993 and 1999? “Was it because we opposed the Kargil war,” he asked. It was the second time in two days that the PMLN leader had called for the accountability of those behind his ouster, since his return to the country.
The former premier asked the nation to realise that economic destruction started in 2019 and continued till 2022. He said during this period, everything in the country collapsed. He claimed that if Shehbaz Sharif had not taken over, the country would have defaulted.
Recalling his 2013 election campaign, he said he was advised by his party leaders to announce that loadshedding would end in six months, but he refused and promised the nation that loadshedding would end in five years, and he fulfilled his promise.
Nawaz Sharif said the PMLN made the country invincible and today no one could dare attack it because of its nuclear arsenal.
Earlier, interviews of candidates from Chakwal, Attock and Jhelum districts were conducted during the Saturday meeting, which was attended by PMLN Punjab President Rana Sanaullah and other senior leaders, including Chairman PMLN Election Cell Senator Ishaq Dar. Party’s Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz also attended the meeting and later left for Gujarat district to address a workers convention in Jalalpur Jattan.
The meeting also discussed possible seat adjustments with Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PMLQ) in Chakwal. Recommendations of all district presidents, including divisional coordinator, divisional president and general secretary, were also considered by the party leadership.
