Nawaz Sharif says Imran Khan not sole culprit, ‘those who brought him guilty too’

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) supremo Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was responsible for what happened between 2018 and 2022.

Addressing newly elected members of the assembly in Lahore, he said that the party introduced the politics of hatred, lies and chaos. “How could the country progress in such circumstances? Merit was trampled during the previous rule. The PTI founder (Imran Khan) is not the only criminal — those who brought him are also guilty.”

Talking about the recently held by-elections, he said on the one hand the PTI announced a boycott of the Punjab by-elections and on the other hand Omar Ayub’s wife contested the election. “What kind of boycott was this.”

He said that the PTI government brought nothing but destruction, promoted a culture of indecency and pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy.

He said PTI had raised inflation to 39 per cent during its tenure, whereas during his government it was only three per cent.

 “Had the journey of development continued, Pakistan would have held a respectable position in the world today, and we would not have to worry about the IMF,” he said.

Referring again to the Punjab by-elections, he said PTI claimed to boycott the polls, yet Omar Ayub’s wife contested the very elections. “The people have rejected the politics of lies and hatred in the by-polls. I congratulate the elected members because the politics of abuse, disorder and disruption has been defeated,” he said.

The PML-N supremo further said that work based on merit was now under way — development projects were progressing, laptops were being distributed, roads were being built, green buses were running, law and order had improved and ration cards were being issued without discrimination of religion. “More projects will be unveiled soon,” he said.

Addressing the newly elected members, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz hailed the PML-N’s electoral victories, crediting the success to what she described as the party’s commitment to service, resilience and continued participation in the democratic process.

Maryam said that Allah had blessed the PML-N with a “historic victory”, adding that the party’s candidates campaigned effectively across constituencies and worked diligently on the ground.

“We won in Mianwali as well — even there, a change has come,” she said, noting that Mianwali and Haripur had also returned PML-N candidates.

The chief minister recalled that the party had also swept all by-elections during its previous tenure, referencing the Daska by-poll where, she said, presiding staff had gone missing amid thick fog.

She said voters had now rejected the politics of hate and division, choosing instead to reward service delivery through the ballot.

Maryam said that the PML-N never distanced itself from the political process despite hardships. “The party faced every difficulty with courage and made the people its strength. We never boycotted elections,” she asserted.

She said that PTI too had fielded candidates nationwide despite its boycott narrative.

Targeting the rival PTI, Maryam said those accusing PML-N of dynastic politics had themselves nominated wives and brothers on different seats.

“They cleverly planned that if they lost, they would call it a boycott — and if they won, they would say they succeeded despite the boycott,” she said.

The chief minister said the public had now understood the difference between “real and fake” politics.

“People no longer attend your rallies or fall for your narratives,” she said, criticising what she termed PTI’s politics of slogans rather than service.

Maryam said that the four years of the PTI government would be remembered as one of the darkest periods in the country’s political history.

She went on to say that under PTI rule, politics was turned into personal enmity and the country’s democratic fabric was damaged.

“What they did to people a few years ago — today they are crying over the consequences themselves,” she said.

Maryam said that the only path to improvement was sustained national progress. “Rulers must not settle for the title alone — they must work day and night for the people,” she stressed, adding that the PML-N’s record of service could neither be erased nor forgotten.

Calling former prime minister Nawaz Sharif “the only leader blessed by God with the premiership three times,” she said history’s “worst conspiracy” was used to remove him from office.

“A three-time elected prime minister was ousted through a plot,” she stated.