Nawaz reiterates demand for accountability of judges, generals

Shehbaz says important decisions taken during PML-N meeting in London n PML-N rules out any change in Nawaz Sharif’s planned homecoming on October 21 n Imran taught vulgarity to youth. Nawaz will educate people: Shehbaz n Nawaz Sharif says Pakistan will not be able to move forward until all characters behind 2017 conspiracy against his govt are taken to task n Maryam says her father will get historic welcome upon arrival in Lahore.

 

LONDON  -  Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Friday told re­porters in London that he had arrived in the city on the directives of the party supremo and his brother, Nawaz Sharif, to participate in the party huddle. He said they discussed the legal and administra­tive matters and some important decisions were taken during the party meeting attend­ed by senior leaders in­cluding Ishaq Dar and Maryam Nawaz. 

Former PM Shar­if reached London on Thursday just two days after he returned to Pa­kistan from the UK. His sudden trip to London surprised several quar­ters. The former prime minister had left Lon­don earlier in the week after spending several weeks there, but upon reaching Lahore, he made a sudden plan to return in order to have a face-to-face meeting with his elder brother.

Reportedly, Shehbaz returned to discuss im­portant matters with his elder brother. Both the leaders held im­portant discussions re­garding the return of Nawaz.

While talking to re­porters in London on Friday, Shehbaz Sharif did not give de­tails about the decisions tak­en during the meeting. Howev­er, he said that his elder brother was returning to the country to pick up the threads of devel­opment progress from where he had left off in 2018 after his mandate was snatched.

He said that that the alleged destruction of the four years of development starting from 2013 had seemingly occurred overnight, and he emphasised that such an example is not ev­ident elsewhere.

Shehbaz pointed out that Nawaz had made a commit­ment in 2013 to resolve the load shedding crisis, a promise he fulfilled. He further claimed that Nawaz aimed to steer the coun­try once again toward the path of progress. He also emphasised that Nawaz’s return aimed to put an end to the trend of hatred and disrespect that, according to him, was allegedly propagat­ed among the youth by former premier Imran Khan.

Also, Shehbaz made it clear that there was zero substance in the speculations that were mak­ing rounds that he had rushed to London, days after reaching Lahore, with a special message for his elder brother. The re­ports had suggested that he had a special meeting in Gujranwala earlier this week where he had received that message. 

The former prime minis­ter said he was in London on Nawaz’s instructions to discuss important matters including the next legal, administrative and political steps of the Sharif family and the PML-N and “we have made decisions”. He added that the reports were false and speculative.

“Nawaz Sharif will return to a resounding welcome in La­hore and then address the na­tion at a rally at Minar-e-Paki­stan where he will present the party’s plan to tackle poverty, unemployment and improve the economic situation. He will present the agenda of progress and success. Nawaz Sharif is the leader who took Pakistan to the path of progress and hope before, and delivered for the masses and will do so again,” assured Shehbaz. 

The PML-N president also said the country should look at the party’s performance from 2013 to 2017 “when Nawaz Sharif ended 20 hours load-shedding, mainstreamed CPEC, and invit­ed billions in investment, end load-shedding in Pakistan and he brought energy and hope, he brought over $30 billion invest­ment to Pakistan. The former PM said Nawaz is a ray of hope for the nation.

He went on to say that infla­tion was low in Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan, GDP growth was at 6.5%, industries were flourish­ing, people had jobs and every segment of the society was pro­gressing but a “cruel joke” was played with the nation when his brother was removed from power in 2017 by the Supreme Court judges. 

“That’s when Pakistan was thwarted from racing to new heights and Nawaz’s man­date was stolen in a conspira­cy against Pakistan. The elec­tions were rigged in 2018 and millions of Pakistanis were de­prived of the path of progress. Nawaz Sharif is coming back to Pakistan to start the same journey. He’s coming back as the saviour and reformer,” the PML-N president.

Shehbaz said: “Imran Khan taught vulgarity to the nation. Nawaz will end this poison and will educate the youth and will give them employment.”

He said that it was tragic that “poison” was injected into Paki­stan’s national discourse, abuse of colleagues and mentors was normalised and the culture of vulgarity was taken to an un­precedented level, which has damaged Pakistan.

Shehbaz’s visit comes days af­ter videos of Nawaz calling for the accountability of former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid were published by the London party headquarters on social media. 

However, during the press conference, Shehbaz said bringing Pakistan togeth­er and moving forward is the need of the hour. “Rome was not built in a day. Nawaz Sharif never over-promised or exag­gerated. He has always deliv­ered on his promises.” 

Also, Maryam Nawaz in her brief media interaction, told re­porters that her father would get a historic reception in La­hore when he lands in about a month from now. When asked if there is any truth to the ru­mours that Nawaz will perhaps not return or will delay his re­turn, she said: “These rumours will die. I don’t pay much atten­tion to rumours.

Meanwhile, Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supre­mo Nawaz Sharif said that Pa­kistan will not be able to move forward until all the charac­ters of the conspiracy hatched in 2017 against his government are brought to justice.

During a meeting with his brother, former prime minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif, former fi­nance minister Ishaq Dar, and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, among other party leaders in London, Nawaz asserted that the 2017 conspiracy had pushed Pakistan to the brink of ruin and imposed a group of in­dividuals he described as swin­dlers on the nation.

Sharif once again criticised various key figures, including former army chief General Ba­jwa, ex-ISI chief Gen Faiz Ha­meed, former chief justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Azmat Saeed, and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, as “criminals of Pakistan”. The three-time prime minister’s assertion that Paki­stan cannot move forward until all those involved in the alleged conspiracy are brought to jus­tice has added a new dimension to the already complex political climate in the country. 

However, the PML-N leader­ship has remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind Sheh­baz Sharif’s abrupt departure to London shortly after his return to Pakistan. This sudden move has fueled rumours of a possi­ble change in Nawaz Sharif’s travel plans, leaving many with­in and outside the party ques­tioning the true purpose of this unscheduled meeting.

Party leaders in Lahore have attempted to quell speculation by stating that there have been no alterations to Nawaz Sharif’s planned return to Pakistan on October 21. They maintain that preparations to welcome their leader are ongoing as sched­uled. Nevertheless, some par­ty insiders raised concerns and speculations about the motive behind Shehbaz Sharif’s swift return to London. One Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Punjab suggested that She­hbaz might have departed to convey a message from influ­ential entities within Pakistan’s power structure, although there has been no official confirma­tion of such communication.

Another party leader spec­ulated that the urgency of the London meeting might be relat­ed to the PML-N’s legal strategy. This could involve seeking relief from the courts in light of the appointment of a new chief jus­tice and a potential willingness of the establishment to engage in reconciliation.

Adding a further layer of com­plexity to the situation, there have been rumours of former PML-N members contemplating the formation of a new political party, which has added to the intrigue surrounding the par­ty’s internal dynamics.