MURREE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Quaid Nawaz Sharif has said that he was not interested in the office of prime minister rather he wanted to work for bringing a positive change in the lives of people through sustained development in the country.
He had no personal interest for any top office as he had already served the country thrice as a prime minister, but he was compelled to come forward for people’s welfare by putting the country again on the path to progress and prosperity, he said while speaking to local party office-bearers.
He emphasized that there should be retrospection why the once progressing Pakistan had been ruined economically. Had the country continued its sustained journey initiated during the last PML-N government it would have been among the developed countries today, he added.
He said after the last PML-N government’s tenure which ended in 2017, the process of economic deterioration started in the country. It was on the verge of bankruptcy when the PML-N along with its allies again assumed power and managed a bailout from the International Monetary Fund to revive the economy.
Nawaz recalled that during his prime ministerships, two Indian prime ministers had visited Pakistan. He had rejected the offer of $5 billion from the United States and instead went for conducting nuclear tests, he added.
He said it was his government which had completed a power plant within one and a half years, and added some 15,000 megawatts electricity to the national grid.
Similarly, he said, the PML-N government had successfully completed the Neelum Jhelum project lingering for years. In Sindh, coal mines were utilized for establishing a power plant, he added.
He pointed out that during his government, the exchange rate of US dollar was Rs 104, while the price of a bread was Rs 4. Everything was in abundance in the country, including electricity and gas. The employees were in a position to save every month from their salaries.
However, with the ouster of his government, the next regime made the lives of people hard and difficult, he regretted.
Nawaz Sharif said it was strange that he was ousted from office for not accepting a salary from his son.
The PML-N Quaid said those who had pushed a developing Pakistan into the worst economic conditions should be held accountable.
Nawaz Sharif said he had an enduring bond with the residents of Murree, which was growing stronger with each passing day. Murree was like a second home for him, and he as Punjab chief minister worked for its beautification and construction.
It was he who had initiated the work on the Murree Expressway, he added, pledging that he would again revive the past glory of the hilly station.
Speaking on the occasion, Maryam Nawaz stated that Nawaz Sharif, who had to remain abroad for four years, was back to serve his countrymen. He had made Pakistan’s defence invincible by making it a nuclear power, and would now make it strong economically, she added.
