LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that Bengalis were at the forefront of the struggle for Pakistan’s independence, DawnNews reported.

Speaking at a ceremony in Lahore for the distribution of laptops among Punjab University students, the PML-N chief said that former East Pakistanis played an active part during the 1965 war with India.

Moreover, the Bengali’s were also our brothers once, he added.

Nawaz said that MM Alam, the former Pakistani fighter pilot of Bengali ethnicity who was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat, had torn the enemies’ jets to pieces during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war.

“I, too, watched the (Pakistan-Bangladesh) match yesterday, and was very happy at our victory,” said the former prime minister while addressing the students.

“We are not distributing weapons to the students — we have given them laptops,” he said, adding that his party would be distributing 300 thousand more laptops in the next budget.

“We do not just talk about change. We are bringing the change,” he said. “If more money is invested in education then it will help nurture a revolutionary youth.”

The PML-N chief blamed President Asif Ali Zardari's government and their allies for the country's problems, claiming that the country was developing at a rapid pace when he himself was prime minister.

“The situation is bad, but I still have hope,” he said. “I believe Pakistan will be on it's feet again. Every Pakistani will have a laptop in their hands if we are elected to power.”