LAHORE: Eyeing a fourth stint as prime minister, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif expressed optimism on Thursday that the people would support his party in the next general elections scheduled for Feb 8 next year, after he stands vindicated in “bogus” and “baseless” graft cases brought against him.
In a recorded message televised on news channels, the former prime minister conveyed his hope that the people of Pakistan would announce their judgement on the election-day, putting an end to the punishment brought upon them.
Since his return, Nawaz has time and again called for holding those behind his 2017 ouster accountable, arguing that they punished the entire nation, not just him and his family.
As the three-time premier contemplates another bid for the position of prime minister, the only remaining legal obstacle preventing him from participating in the upcoming general elections is his lifetime disqualification as a parliamentarian in the Panama Papers case.
Nawaz Sharif, who ended his self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom in October this year, has so far been acquitted in the Al Azizia and Avenfield references by the Islamabad High Court.
The PML-N leader said he had been receiving congratulations on his legal victories, and people across the country were sending him messages of support. He emphasised that the public did not believe the false propaganda run against him.
He thanked the nation for supporting him and his party through testing times, stating that it was not just his victory, but the victory of the entire nation.
Nawaz deplored that whenever he took the reins as the prime minister from his predecessors, he found the country in tough and dire conditions. He asserted that he worked selflessly for the well-being of his people, but conspirators would repeatedly end his government and drag him into court.
Nawaz alleged that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the accountability watchdog, had initiated a witch hunt against him on the orders of a former Supreme Court judge.
He said all the conspirators who overthrew the PML-N governments now stood exposed. “The testimonies coming from those quarters he had never thought about were proof of this.”
The former premier deplored that he had been referred to as the “Sicilian Mafia,” “Godfather,” and more by judges, but added that he had entrusted all his affairs to Almighty God, who vindicated him in the face of obstacles.
