Shehbaz Sharif expects institutions to ensure free, fair polls in 2023

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) President Shehbaz Sharif Sunday claimed that his party would "bury the PTI forever" in the 2023 general election.

Addressing a party workers’ convention here, he said: “I want to make it clear that we will bury the PTI forever if general elections are held in fair and transparent manner. "Our success in the cantonment boards elections is not ordinary," he said and added that the PMLN performed even better in Rawalpindi than Lahore, a city considered to be their stronghold. "We rather wiped out the PTI in Rawalpindi," he claimed.

Shehbaz said he would expect the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the judiciary and all institutions to ensure that the next general elections would be held in a fair and transparent manner. "I call upon all institutions that they will have to ensure fair and transparent elections," he said.

Shehbaz said that three years ago, when the PTI came to power with a selected prime minister, it destroyed Pakistan. Now after three years, people's eyes have opened to the reality, he added.

The opposition leader said that Pakistan enjoyed no respect in the world anymore, while the country's economy had been ruined with increasing burden of loans. "Still the selected prime minister tells people that they should not panic," he said, adding the prices of medicines, flour and sugar were getting out of reach of common man.

He said that contrary to claims of the PTI leadership of providing millions of jobs, they, instead, deprived hundreds of thousands of people of their employment. "Our 2018 manifesto promised homes for people. Had it been our government there, we would have already provided hundreds of thousands of people with homes," Shehbaz claimed.

Separately, speaking to the media in Lahore, PMLN Vice-President and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz said ‘conciliation’ means that every party should be provided level playing field in the Election 2023.

He was responding to a question whether he believed in ‘resistance’ or ‘conciliation’ during a media talk on Sunday. Answering a question, Hamza said the government wanted to send all the opposition to jail for the next two years so that they could get free hand to win the upcoming elections.

About reaching any agreement with the government, Hamza categorically said that was impossible. He said even after three years of trial, none of the allegations levelled against the opposition leaders had been proved in any court of law.

Hamza severely criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over price-hike, inflation and unemployment in the country. He said the nation was crying because of rising prices of flour, ghee, sugar and utilities. He said that was the result of the PTI government’s incompetence. He called upon people to pray that may Allah Almighty help the nation get rid of the incompetent and puppet government.

He suggested that all opposition parties should sit together and find a solution to the current situation. Hamza said the government had failed in maintaining law and order in the province, and the incidents of street crime and rapes had been increasing. “Increase in rape cases is a failure of the government, as the police are posted after taking bribe and they are used for political purposes,” he alleged.

He claimed that the government had no policy on COVID-19, and Pakistan had been placed on Red List of many countries. He said the government had tarnished the image of Pakistan before the international community.

He regretted that Prime Minister Imran Khan, an accused in the helicopter case, had got regularise his 300-kanal Bani Gala ‘palace’ by giving a few lakh rupees fine. Hamza said the huts of the poor were being demolished in the name of encroachments. “Shame on those who raise the slogan of Madina-like state,” he said and questioned that where were the 50 lakh houses and millions of jobs, which Imran Khan had announced while standing on a container.

He said dengue was spreading again because no policy was made to control the disease by the government. He said the Punjab government was playing musical chairs with the officers as many chief secretaries, IGPs, provincial secretaries, commissioners and DCs had been changed rapidly.

The Punjab opposition leader said Pakistan's economy had collapsed due to incompetence of the government and dollar had reached record price of 170 Pak Rupee. About rift in the PMLN, Hamza said there was no rift and he was a worker of the party and he would perform whatever duty he would be given by the party leadership.

To a question that Maryam Nawaz said those who gave consent for extension of the Army Chief should apologise to the nation, Hamza Shehbaz said the decision was taken by the PMLN leadership and it was a correct decision. He said he personally believed that the decision was right and was taken for betterment of Pakistan. "At times, we have to think for the country by putting aside our own differences," he said and added that the decision was taken by top leadership of the PMLN with consensus.

PMLN senior leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif, while addressing the workers convention, called upon the party leaders and workers in cities and tehsils to get united for winning the upcoming elections.

He asked the party workers that they should be ready for polls which, he said, could be held any time. He said the party workers should create unity among themselves if they wanted to cash in on sacrifices of Nawaz Sharif and services of Shehbaz Sharif in the next general elections. "For God sake, create unity. If there are any differences at the local level, those can be resolved amicably," he said.

The PMLN leader pointed out that the party triumphed at the cantonment boards elections because of fair and transparent process. He said that 73 per cent voters rejected politics of the PTI. The PMLN leader called upon "all supporters, from Karachi to Peshawar", to stand behind party supremo Nawaz Sharif.