PML-N always ready for early elections: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was always ready for early elections.

In an interview with journalists earlier this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had hinted at early elections in the country.

Nawaz Sharif held an informal conversation with journalists before the hearing of the Flagship reference at the accountability court. He said the prime minister’s statement regarding early elections had been welcomed by the people, who he said wanted the government to go. The former prime minister stressed that the PML-N believed in serious politics.

He added that according to the report of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), the margin of win in 53 constituencies was less than rejected votes, adding that rigging had taken place in that constituencies. He said 95 percent of Forms 45 were not signed by the polling agents.

“We have never witnessed such discrepancies in Pakistan’s history,” he claimed. Nawaz Sharif claimed that his government saved Rs160 billion in power projects but were never credited for it.

Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday recorded statement in reply to four more questions in the Flagship reference. The Accountability Court Judge Arshad Malik on Thursday resumed the hearing of Flagship reference against Nawaz Sharif filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

During the hearing, in his verbal statement, Nawaz stated that the NAB failed to present evidence against him and he doesn’t need to present anything in his defence. He said that references against him were founded on assumptions and baseless allegations. “The NAB even failed to prove assets beyond income claim,” he said.