"Nawaz Sharif Will Change Destiny Of Country": Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Fielding for the return of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his return will change the destiny of the nation and urged people to make their decisions after looking into the performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, Geo News reported.

While addressing the cheques distribution ceremony under the Prime Minister's Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme, Shehbaz Sharif said, "Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the entire leadership of PML-N will change destiny of the country by taking it on the path of progress and prosperity."

The PML-N party is eyeing on Nawaz Sharif return as it considers that the comeback will give them boost in the election, which is set to take place in October-November, as the tenure is going to end in mid-August.

In order to bring Nawaz back in the power, the PML-N coalition government has passed a law in June limiting the disqualification of parliamentarians to a maximum of five years, benefiting the PML-N chief, who had been disbarred from running for office for a lifetime.

Sharif said that his party would accept the public's mandate in the upcoming polls, urging the people to make their decisions after looking into certain facts and by juxtaposing the performance of the PML-N governments with that of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's (PTI) four-year saga of destruction.

The prime minister mentioned that PTI's tenure was tainted with huge corruption scams - including sugar and wheat scams, BRapid Transit Peshawar, Malam Jabba, sale of Toshakhana gifts, an Pound 190 billion UK agency corruption. "No one could deny these stark facts," he added.

While lauding the statesmanship qualities of Nawaz, who is his elder brother and a three-time premier, PM Sharif regretted that the former prime minister was removed from power despite the fact that he had ended hours-long crippling load shedding, provided laptops and loans to youth, brought muti-billions China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) power and road infrastructure projects during 2015, reported Geo News.

On the other hand, he said, PTI Chief Imran Khan had a "phobia of PML-N leadership" and the opposition, as day in and day out, he was "hell-bent" on putting them in jails in "fake cases". He said that the PTI chief could not assimilate the revolutionary steps taken by the PML-N government.

The prime minister went on to say that Nawaz and his party had experienced the worst kind of political vendetta, even though they were sent into exile after ouster from power, but unlike the PTI chief, the PML-N supremo never thought of anything against the country.

PM Shehbaz said that Khan, who was brought to power through "fake elections", kept on chanting the corruption charges during his four years in power but failed to prove them.

"When he (Khan) was removed from power corridors through a constitutional manner, he used dirty language and tactics against the state institutions," he added.

Speaking about the recent cut in petroleum prices, he said that the relief had been passed on to the masses in the wake of the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar.

He further stated that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) programme is a challenge for the country instead of relief, but bold decisions will be helpful for stabilising the country's economy, as per Geo News.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)