LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has expressed sadness over what happened to the country during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government and highlighted the challenges, facing the nation currently, including unprecedented inflation.
He was speaking at the 14th parliamentary session of the PML-N here at Model Town Secretariat on Wednesday. PML-N President Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz, former federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Asif, Rana Tanveer, Ataullah Tarar, Hamza Shehbaz, Khurram Dastagir and others were also present.
Nawaz said that after a prolonged period, it was a pleasure for him to meet his colleagues, adding that the PML-N was making comprehensive preparations for the upcoming elections. He expressed confidence that the party would achieve a significant majority across the country.
Highlighting the importance of women’s participation in national progress, Nawaz emphasised that countries that have progressed, prioritised development of women. He called for women to be actively involved in health, employment, and education sectors, asserting that their unique contributions could help achieve national development goals.
Nawaz Sharif recounted societal biases against women, stressing the need to eliminate such prejudices. He acknowledged the protection Islam provides to women and commended the role women played in building Pakistan. He argued that women could outperform men in societal development and urged their inclusion in decision-making process.
Reflecting on his tenure as prime minister in 2013, Nawaz Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s political and economic strength during that period. He credited his party for various achievements, including overcoming load-shedding, counter-terrorism efforts, and initiating development projects such as the Lahore Metro bus and train and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Nawaz Sharif said that false cases were made against him and his family and the party workers during the four-year rule of the PTI; and he was jailed and punished. He said that a prime minister was expelled from the government and disqualified for life for not taking salary from his son; nowhere in the world it happened ever, he said and questioned that what would be compensation for the punishments given to him. Now, all those false cases had been decided in his favour, he added.
