By Muhammad Luqman
Former Prime Minister and head of ruling Pakistan Muslim League , Nawaz Sharif has said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should devise a strategy which ends the country’s reliance on US aid.
Nawaz during a news conference at the Punjab House on Wednesday, described Donald Trump’s tweet as “sad” and “non-serious,” and stressed that a head of state should be mindful of the diplomtic rules of engagement.
“Pakistan paid the highest price after 9/11” Nawaz said, emphasising that the country had lost the most in the war on terrorism.
The former premier said that the Coalition Support Fund should not be termed aid, adding that we do not need “taunts” about aid.
“Had there been a democratic government in 2001, it would not have sold its conscience,” said Nawaz, who was deposed in 1999 by the-then army chief General Pervez Musharraf.
“We need to take stock of the domestic situation and find out why the world has a negative view of Pakistan,” he added.
Regarding country’s political situation, Nawaz said that being a three-time prime minister, several facts are in his knowledge.
Nawaz lamented that not a single prime minister has completed his or her term in this country.
Quoting surveys, he said the PML-N is the most popular party among the public, and its vote bank is stronger than the combined vote bank of all political parties.
“Those afraid of this rise [of PML-N] are attempting to change the present situation,” he added.
“I want to state categorically that the country’s future is linked with impartial elections,” he said, urging that equal opportunities be given to every electoral contender.
He said illegal decisions and secret backdoor deals should not be undertaken to keep some parties out and other ‘favourites’ in.
“Those who indulge in the politics of lies and sit-ins and have been repeatedly rejected by the voters should not be forced upon the people,” he asserted.
Asking that the voters’ decisions not be usurped, Nawaz warned that is the scheming being undertaken behind the curtains does not stop, he “shall present all such evidence before the people and share the story of what has transpired in the last four years”.
“I shall also inform the people of the political games being played from behind the scenes at the moment,” he added.
