PML-N president and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday called for accountability for “those who brought Imran” into power, claiming that they were bigger “criminals” than the PTI founder.

“Imran Khan was not the only criminal; the ones who brought him to power were the bigger criminals, and they should be held fully accountable,” said the PML-N supremo while addressing a gathering of newly elected lawmakers today.

Nawaz has generally maintained a low profile since the PML-N, following the formation of a coalition with the PPP, came into power after the 2024 elections.

In 2018, according to figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan, PTI had emerged as the largest political party in the country, winning 115 of the 270 National Assembly seats on which the elections were held.

During a session in parliament following the election of then-PM Imran, PML-N leader Shehbaz brought up allegations of rigging in the July 25 polls. Alleging that 1.6 million votes were rejected, he questioned the discovery of ballot papers from gutters and streets across the country.

“You know their (PTI’s) narrative well, they used to call others robbers and dacoits while they were the bigger robbers.”

Nawaz added that the people of the country are now aware of what the previous government did and further said, “they only indulged in chaos, anarchy and fights, including slandering others”.

He asked if a country can progress under such circumstances and with such people residing in the corridors of power.

The PML chief lamented that prior to the change of power in 2018, the country was on a path of progress with low inflation and higher growth rates.

Nawaz recalled that the Saudi riyal was valued at Rs11 when Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law in 1999, compared to around Rs78 today (as pointed out by an audience member). He said currency depreciation had made life unaffordable for Pakistanis.

The PML-N supremo added that Pakistan cannot make decisions independently due to its reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“If our rate of progress had remained the same, who knows where we would’ve reached today. There would be no worries about IMF or about foreign exchange,” Nawaz said.

“Now we have all these worries; what are our reserves, whether IMF will let us do this or not. We cannot make any decision ourselves. Our personal decisions are in the hands of foreigners,” he stated.

The PML-N leader claimed that people voted for the party on the basis of its performance, praising both PM Shehbaz and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for their efforts to “reach the level that we had lost”.

He said the two were “working hard” to restore economic stability, saying the government had “taken the economy out of the trenches” and moved the country away from default.

Nawaz said provincial schemes, including low-cost housing, hospital projects, student laptops, scholarships and the “Suthra Punjab” and green bus initiatives, are evidence of progress.

He also highlighted what he described as improved security and social protection in Punjab, stating that ration cards and health facilities were being distributed to vulnerable families without discrimination. “People of all beliefs and religions are our brothers and sisters,” Nawaz stated.