Former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Monday repeated his question as to why he was ousted from power when the country was on "right track", reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a massive public rally in Murree, Mawaz Sharif said it pained him to see the situation the country was going through these days. “Same was not the case when last time I was the prime minister,” he added.
Nawaz Sharif highlighted feats of his party’s last government, saying Pakistan got stuck in crisis after crisis following ouster of his government. He said the achievements of his 2013 government were immense as he compared the prevailing prices of roti, vegetables, and tractors with those in 2013.
Nawaz further enumerated his government’s achievements and asked participants of the rally whether they agreed with him. “Did I not build motorways, roads; was not bread cheaper when I was the prime minister; did not I eliminate loadshedding from the country?” the former prime minister questioned.
The point was, he went on to ask, when everything was going on smoothly, why he was made to leave the office.
Referring to the resignation of a senior Supreme Court judge, the PML-N supremo said those very people who were instrumental in his ouster were now paying the price for the injustices they had done to him. “That judge was going to become the chief justice of Pakistan in a few months. But it appears there was something fishy that he had to call it a day only a few months before his elevation to the top position,” he added.
He did not forget to hit out at former prime minister and ex-PTI chairman Imran Khan, presently in prison, for not fulfilling the promises he had made to the nation. “Where are those millions of homes that he had promised he would build; where are those 10 million jobs which he promised he would provide?” he questioned.
Nawaz Sharif said that the billion-tree tsunami project launched by the Imran Khan-led government was a scam.
Nawaz said that he loved the people of Murree as the city was his second home.
He recalled that it was in 1956 that he visited the hill station for the first time. “After Lahore, Murree is the city where I have spent most of my life,” he said. “My first project as a politician was the motorway from Rawalpindi to Murree during my tenure as the Punjab chief minister in 1985,” he added.
Nawaz, on the occasion, announced launching a train service from Islamabad to Murree after coming to power. “We also have the plan to extend the track further to Muzaffarabad,” he said.
Murree lives in my heart, says Maryam
Addressing the rally, PML-N Senior Vice-President and Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz said that laborers had jobs and bread was cheaper when Nawaz Sharif was the country’s prime minister.
She said that the people of Murree deserved development, and that they would get their right.
Maryam also announced that the PML-N would eliminate timber mafia and land grabbers from Murree after coming to power. “We will build the best educational institutions in the city. We will also build a state-of-the-art hospital besides providing gas to each and every house in Murree,” she promised.
She also criticized the current government for what she said not doing enough to help the people of the city after a heavy snowfall this year.
At the outset, she said it was the first time she had seen such a large gathering in Murree in the snow. “Murree lives in my heart,” she said.
PML-N leader went on to say that she planned to serve Murree day and night.
She claimed that when hundreds of people were dying at the hill station because of accidents, no one came for their help, and that Nawaz Sharif was the only person who stood by them at that time.
Maryam urged the people of Murree to think hard before they vote on February 8. “It is time to chase out intruders. Vote for Nawaz Sharif. He will bring business and make the lives of labourers easy. He will make flour cheap,” she added.
Maryam said “Only two days are left. I want to tell you, I have a message that a vote is not just a piece of paper, it will determine your future and well-being.”
Maryam hailed the people of Murree for attending a party rally in large numbers during cold weather. She said the city had a special place in her heart. “People from all over visit this place for tourism,” she added.
Reporter: Haider Ali