ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday in case of a simple majority in the general elections, Nawaz Sharif would be the PMLN prime ministerial candidate. He said if that was not possible, coalition allies would decide on a joint candidate.
Speaking in Geo News special broadcast, PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif said that terrorism was almost eradicated due to the sacrifices of Pakistani people and security agencies but three years ago, certain decisions were made that gave the terrorists a head start.
Shehbaz said, “We have saved Pakistan from default and on Thursday (today) the people will decide which party will form the government in the country. We will have to go to another IMF programme and we will have to take big decisions. We will have to sell loss making assets.”
To a question, the former prime minister said in case of a simple majority, Nawaz Sharif would be the candidate for prime minister. However, if it could not be obtained, the decision of prime minister would be taken after consultation with the coalition allies. He said with a few hours left for the election, the purpose of explosions in the country was to scare the voters so that they would not cast their vote.
He further said that three women were present in the PMLN parliamentary board meeting. The first women’s centre was established by the party in Multan. Vocational centres were established for thousands of women in Punjab.
Shehbaz Sharif said that several years ago, Nawaz Sharif’s illness was serious and his blood platelets had dropped to the dangerous 1,500 level. The PTI government had formed a medical board with representation of a doctor from Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital to examine Nawaz Sharif, which ultimately allowed him to travel abroad.
Speaking in the Geo News election transmission, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leader Barrister Gohar Khan said that no decision was taken to stage a sit-in or resign from parliament after the elections. “We will sit in parliament, our candidates will remain with us,” he said.
He said it was expected that their independent members would join them after winning the polls. Gohar took an exception to his opponents and said that they were seeking an NRO from the PTI government and they got their cases closed as soon as they took over the government.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told Geo News the people of Pakistan can spring a surprise in today’s elections and produce a major upset and added he wants to “break the cycle” which has entrapped Pakistan. “I appeal to the Pakistani people to bury the politics of hatred and division. We intend to establish a reconciliation commission to address all the past grievances,” he said. Bilawal said he wants to resolve the crises of climate change, economic and security challenges surrounding Pakistan simultaneously.
In an interview with German media, Bilawal said, “If the election results were predetermined, I wouldn’t work so hard. I believe that on February 8th, PPP will exceed expectations. Pakistanis should choose a path where real issues are discussed.” He expressed his disappointment with the PMLN for not agreeing to a debate among the candidates for the office of prime minister, terming it ‘unfortunate’. “The PMLN knows it and ran away from the debate. Unfortunately, the media perpetuates the myth of PMLN’s performance,” he stated.
On his X handle, he said: “It is truly unfortunate that the PMLN did not agree to a debate for the PM candidates.” Bilawal said one thing he hoped to address was the perception that Punjab performed better than other provinces due to the PMLN. He said renowned economist Dr Hafiz Pasha had stated in his book that Sindh now performed better than Punjab in many areas such as governance, freedom from want, freedom from fear, gross regional income and human security overall.
Bilawal said everyone agreed to the fact that increasing exports was the only way out for Pakistan from the economic crisis. “Every time the PMLN was in control of finance, the exports decreased. Last time, when the PPP was in charge, the exports increased the most despite global recession. The PPP is better at managing the economy,” Bilawal said. He also quoted exports during the PPP’s tenure from 2008 to 2013, PMLN’s tenure from 2013-2018 and PTI’s tenure from 2018-22.
