RAHIM YAR KHAN: Continuing with his efforts to denigrate his main political rivals and take the establishment to task, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif told a public meeting on Wednesday that his party would be up against an “unseen force” in the general elections.

Addressing a rally in Ahmedpur Lama near Sadiqabad, some 43km from here, Mr Sharif reiterated that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz faced no competition from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party.

This year’s election, he said, would be nothing but a referendum on his disqualification as a parliamentarian.

Recalling what he called the “public welfare projects” launched by his government, he said the PPP-led government did not complete any significant project during its term, whereas the PTI was just misleading people about its “achievements” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“I sanctioned land for the Shaukat Khanum hospital in 1990, but Imran Khan has forgotten that now.

“I served the people, ended the power crisis, eradicated terrorism and built motorways, but I was disqualified only because I did not take salary from [my] son,” he said.

The former premier said his government had added more capacity to the national grid than any other government. He said the under-construction motorway from Multan to Karachi would facilitate the people.

“We can turn Pakistan into an Asian Tiger within 10 years. We will provide Sehat cards to the poor after winning the elections, besides providing them with shelter,” he said.

The country’s next 70 years would be very different from its past seven decades, said Mr Sharif.

Speaking on the occasion, Maryam Nawaz said turncoats could not turn their designs into reality.

She said the people of Sadiqabad were loyal to the PML-N. They were politically mature and would not support the turncoats, she added.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2018