‘Shehbaz was ready for polls after Imran’s ouster’: Shehbaz Sharif was all set to resign and he had prepared his farewell speech as well. But we refused to give in before threats,” the elder Sharif said during his visit to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Nawaz Sharif was talking about the ‘difficult decision’ to form the Shehbaz-led PDM government in April 2022 following the ouster of Imran Khan.
It seems Nawaz Sharif was referring to the ‘threats’ of a long march in May 2022 by Imran Khan. Besides, there were also reports that former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had also advised the PDM to go into elections after removing Mr Khan from power.
“We were not ready to come to power in 2022. …We then decided to move forward without any fear for the interest of Pakistan. We had to save the country from default,” he said and added that “we worked for the progress of the country but faced imprisonment and exile”.
Mr Sharif said he was a strong advocate of a policy of liberalisation and privatisation. “We will privatise dams and motorways. I am in favour of the PIA’s privatisation; however, its name should not be changed.”
Nawaz Sharif chided the elements for disrespecting the parliament and prime ministers. “We committed wrongs to our prime ministers and parliament that’s why we are facing such a situation,” he said. Without mentioning Imran Khan, he complained “to whom we handed over the country and then the currency devalued; rather, the entire economy reached the verge of collapse”.
The PML-N leader also underlined the achievements of the previous tenure of his government. “During my government (2013-17), the dollar-rupee parity was $1-Rs104…had our policies continued, a dollar would have been at Rs50,” he claimed.
He said that strong economic decisions were the need of the hour to provide relief to the masses. He told the businessmen that economic policies would be made in consultation with them. He said if his party came to power it would put the country back on the road of progress.
