Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said he is not a seer or a fortuneteller but he knows that Imran Khan’s downfall is imminent.
Speaking to visitors at Kot Lakhpat prison, Nawaz said Imran has concrete charges against his sister Aleema Khan and that they both will be held accountable. “Imran Khan is a player who will soon be thrown out of the stadium by the spectators. His Bani Gala residence is in the midst of corruption. Imran should be ashamed of himself,” Nawaz was quoted as telling party leaders at the prison. “We came into power through the public mandate but they do not have that. I am not a seer or a fortune teller, but I know Imran Khan’s downfall is imminent,” he added.
Nawaz said Imran Khan is incompetent and is blaming the previous government to hide his own incompetence. “His incompetence has brought the country to the edge of destruction,” he said. “During our tenure, the Indian prime minister came to Pakistan. Now, he did not even invite anyone for his oath-taking,” he lamented. “When we made Pakistan an atomic power, the world realised of Pakistan’s importance,” he added.
Criticising the government, the PML-N leader said, “We had said goodbye to the IMF but they are bowing down in front of them. Imran Khan had said he will commit suicide if he ever went to IMF, he did not commit suicide but the nation is being forced to.” “During our tenure, the dollar was in control and our exports were increasing. If Imran Khan had not been selected the prime minister, then the country would not have been in this condition. He has disheartened the nation in just 10 months,” he added.
“PML-N left full coffers, built motorways and worked on terrorism and inflation,” the former prime minister said. “The government is putting politicians in jail without any basis,” he alleged.
Later, while addressing a press conference in Lahore, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said all of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s post-budget speech is based on threats and abuses. “Imran Khan has directed to form commission for the investigation of loans.
We are ready to appear before the commission for interrogation as we are not afraid of inquiries,” he asserted. “I think that this current PM doesn’t know that every single penny of loan money is mentioned in the record,” he added.
While shedding light on the development plans executed during the PML-N’s tenure, Abbasi said Tarbela 4, Jhelum-Neelum project and several electricity projects were completed under the supervision of Nawaz Sharif who was PM at that time. “War against terrorism was courageously fought,” he continued.
Abbasi expressed that debts will increase to Rs 10 trillion if the current government runs for two more years. “Additional taxes will result in cutbacks in businesses,” he said, adding that unemployment in the country will only increase, not decrease as a result of the new budget.
While talking about the previous tenure, he said that Rs 9 trillion were allocated to the provinces whereas Rs 1 trillion paid as the interest. “We ask PM Khan and his ministers to upload his tax return file on the internet,” he asserted.
While responding to the prime minister’s speech, Abbasi asserted that Khan claimed not to spare anyone while he delivered his speech at midnight. “Neither any president nor any PM has ever addressed at 12am before. If he wanted to address the nation, he should have done that in the broad daylight. I even dare him to speak in the assembly,” he added.
Talking to media outside the Kot Lakhpat prison, other PML-N leaders declared the PTI government’s first budget as a killer of the economy and an anti-people budget. They also demanded that the government let them know if any corruption was made in factories, motorways and other projects.
Former interior minister and senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the PTI’s rule will be heavy on the masses of the country. He demanded that the proposed inquiry commission on loans should first of all record the statement of Adviser on Finance Hafeez Sheikh.
Former defence minister and PML-N leader Khawaja Asif said that Imran Khan is selling the country for sake of his own rule, adding that the government increased inflation by 40 percent by shooting up revenue target by 40 percent.
