- The former prime minister dismisses speculation he will not return to the country.
- Nawaz and Maryam conclude their foreign trip and leave for Pakistan.
- The PTI called the November 24 Islamabad march a “last call”.
LONDON: Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s “final call” to protest on the 24th of this month is not would fail to derail the country’s progress.
He spoke briefly to the media in London on Saturday before leaving for Pakistan with his daughter and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and grandson Junaid Safdar.
Nawaz, who left for his trips to the UK and the US on October 26, spent time in Geneva with his family. Maryam also traveled to Geneva for medical treatment earlier this month.
The PML-N president dismissed the prospects of a PTI protest movement, when a journalist asked him if the aim of the PTI protest call was to derail Pakistan’s economic journey. “I agree with you but they will fail in their mission,” Nawaz said.
When asked for his message for those who said Nawaz would stay in London and not return to Pakistan, Nawaz said: “I will call those people liars.”
Nawaz once again criticized the nationwide protest call given by the former ruling party, earlier lashing out at jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, saying the incarcerated ex-PM does not had done nothing other than “bring discredit on the country” during his nearly four years in power.
“What Imran Khan did during his tenure made people take to the streets at his call. Tell me about a single (development) project that he could proudly present as proof of development during his term mandate,” the former prime minister said during an informal interaction. with journalists in London a day ago.
“Pakistan has emerged from difficulties and is now on the path to prosperity,” he said, adding that obstacles were being created in the path of development.
The former prime minister added that they had only harmed the country. “They must be held accountable for such practices before giving a ‘call’,” he added.
It is worth mentioning here that the November 24 date for the PTI anti-government protest march in Islamabad was announced by Khan’s lawyer and sister three days ago, which they termed as a ‘last call’ for overthrow the existing leaders.
“Imran Khan says this is the last call for an (anti-government) protest. The PTI founder stressed that the entire party leadership would participate in the march,” lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told reporters in Rawalpindi.
The protest will not take place only in Islamabad, but across Pakistan and the world where Khan’s supporters are present, Chaudhry had said.