HAROONABAD/LAHORE  -  Criticising the incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan after his 10-year sentence in cipher case, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) su­premo Nawaz Sharif said that he had neither com­promised the national security nor revealed any state secret to save his rulership.

The three-time ex-premier, in his address to an election rally in the Haroonabad town of Punjab’s Bahawalnagar district on Tuesday, came down hard on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and blamed him for hatching a “conspiracy” which compromised the national security.

In a major development yesterday, the cricketer turned-politician Imran Khan and the former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years, each, in the cipher case, pertains to allegations of making contents of a secret cable sent by the country’s ambassador in Wash­ington to the government in Islamabad public. He praised the Haroonabad peo­ple for gathering in large numbers to wel­come him and said that his election rally broke attendance records of all previous rallies in the city. “Despite being subju­gated, I had never revealed any state se­cret nor compromised the national secu­rity,” Nawaz said while pointing fingers at Khan, adding that he “attacked” the coun­try’s integrity to save his rule.

“I am still standing before the nation de­spite facing cruel oppression. I had been ousted from the premiership for not re­ceiving salary from my son. I was re­moved from the premiership thrice which also resulted in losses to the country.”

Nawaz blamed Khan for shaking the foundations of the country during his four-year rule. He vowed to stay focused on getting Pakistan back on its feet, be­sides working for the country’s prosper­ity and development. He also announced the construction of a motorway from La­hore to Bahawalnagar if voted to pow­er. Addressing the rally, Maryam Nawaz praised the 10-year sentencing of Khan in the cipher case by a special court. “When Nawaz Sharif was sentenced in the scan­dalous Panama case, the PTI founder was enjoying sweets. Unlike him, Nawaz is not celebrating the sentencing of [Im­ran] Khan today.” “The former premier had played with the national security by waving a fake paper and terming it a con­spiracy. PTI isn’t a political party and they should be treated like terrorists,” she add­ed. “Despite being ousted from power thrice, subjected to oppressiveness and attempts to end his political career, Nawaz has never gone against the country and is still here among the nation,” said the par­ty’s senior vice president. She appealed to the nationals to elect PML-N to power to resume the journey towards develop­ment and prosperity. With the party su­premo back in Pakistan after nearly four years of exile, the PML-N believes it has got a much-needed boost — given the dis­mal performance during the 16-month tenure of the coalition government, head­ed by Shehbaz. The party has fielded 208 candidates for the 266 National Assem­bly general seats up for grabs. Meanwhile, overall for the five legislatures, the PML-N has issued 671 tickets out of the 859 seats.

Meanwhile, PML-N President Mian Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday announced his commitment to expanding recreational facilities across Lahore, stating that he had already overseen the construction of numerous sports complexes through­out the city. Addressing a workers’ con­vention in Gulshan Ravi area of provin­cial constituency PP 172, Shehbaz Sharif pledged to extend such amenities to ev­ery provincial constituency if given the opportunity again. Additionally, he promised to establish swimming pools alongside sports complexes in every pro­vincial constituency of Lahore. Highlight­ing the developmental achievements during the PML-N’s previous tenures un­der Nawaz Sharif’s leadership, Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the establishment of e-libraries within parks across Lahore, mirroring the successful model imple­mented in Greater Iqbal Park.