On Monday (18 September), Pakistan’s exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lambasted former generals and judges for the country’s current economic crisis. Drawing a stark comparison with India, Sharif lamented that Pakistan’s Prime Minister is running from country to country begging for money while India reached the moon and hosted the G20 summit.
He said, “Today Pakistan’s prime minister goes country to country to beg for funds while India has reached the moon and is holding G20 meetings.”
He claimed that India’s economic trajectory changed as it had followed the economic reforms initiated by his government in 1990. He added, “When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister of India, it had only a billion dollars in kitty but now India’s foreign exchange reserves have risen up to $600 billion.”
Going ahead, he asked, “Why Pakistan couldn’t achieve the feats India did? Who is responsible for this here?” he also added where India has reached today and where Pakistan is left behind begging the world for some bucks.
Notably, he drew comparisons with India while addressing a party meeting in Lahore from London via video link.
Interestingly, Sharif has joined ranks with his rival and Former PM Imran Khan who had also drawn comparisons between India and Pakistan. Lauding India’s decision to buy discounted oil from Russia, he praised New Delhi for its economic and diplomatic clout.
Earlier, Sharif had for the first time announced that he would return to the country on October 21 to lead the party’s political campaign in the upcoming elections. With this, he would end his over four years of self-imposed exile in the UK.
It is important to note, Nawaz Sharif was serving a seven-year jail term in the AlAzizia Mills corruption case. However, in November 2019, the then army chief Gen Bajwa helped him to leave the country on medical grounds.
In the wake of his legal troubles, the PML-N has announced that it will secure a protective bail for Nawaz Sharif before he arrives in Lahore next month. The 73-year-old Nawaz Sharif is still the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. He has also declared that his party will win in the upcoming general elections.
His confidence also stems from the fact that many of his former aides have been appointed to the caretaker federal cabinet. More importantly, PML-N has not joined other parties to demand elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the assemblies.
Following these developments, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led PPP suspects that the Sharifs have joined hands with the powerful military establishment. Consequently, several leaders of the PPP have accused the PML-N of becoming a ‘darling of the military’.
They have alleged that it is conspiring against its former allies to gain power.
