PML-N should quit government and go for fresh elections, Maryam tells supporters

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that it was better to quit the government than burden people with more inflation, which was compounded by the previous Imran Khan-led government in the last four years.

She told a public rally in Sargoda district of Punjab province, that it was easy for Nawaz Sharif to "prostrate before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and consent" to withdrawal of subsidies that would lead to another round of sharp inflation, but "he (Sharif) prefers to relinquish the charge rather than burden people with a further price hike."

"I am with you," she told her supporters. "I believe it's better to say goodbye to the government than bury the public under more inflation.”

Maryam asked the participants whether they would give her party a two-third majority to fix the problems faced by the country in the next five years. To this, they responded in the affirmative.

She said the government was being asked why it chose to come to power for "only a month or so." "We assumed the charge because Imran was prepared to rig the next elections as well. We toppled his government and failed his plan that he had made for the next 12 years. Imran Khan must realise that his game is now over.”

The PML-N leader also took exception to Imran Khan’s linking of chicken meat price hike to Hamza Shahbaz's poultry farms, saying "the prices of chicken actually surged when tonnes of chicken meat was burnt on the roof of his Banigala residence."

She accused him of biting the hand that fed him. She hailed the Supreme Court's setting aside of former deputy speaker Qasim Suri's ruling "a historic decision" and said that it "protected the Constitution". "Since that day, Khan has been running a campaign against the top court on social media and cursing them."

However, she said that now that the apex court has taken a suo motu notice, Imran was now heaping praise on the courts. She was referring to the notice taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on the "perceived interference" by "persons in authority" in investigation and prosecution of criminal matters against government officials.

"I am thankful to the court for taking the notice against Shahbaz Sharif. But, one suo motu notice should also be taken on serious allegations levelled by ex-Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) head Bashir Memon.”

Maryam said that a couple of suo motu notices must also be taken against former accountability head Shehzad Akbar as well as the foreign funding case against the PTI that has been pending for seven years.

Commenting on Imran Khan's statement wherein he said families of army personnel would also attend his planned Islamabad march, she wondered if the invitation was issued so "they have to listen to his swearing against their chief."