Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Sunday said that if the country were not on the verge of bankruptcy, the coalition government would have never increased the prices of petroleum products.
Speaking during a jalsa at Lahore’s PP-158 by-election constituency, Maryam said that they would’ve preferred “dying” rather than raising the prices of petrol and diesel if there were no fears of default.
“We had to raise the prices of petrol and diesel with a heavy heart. But after raising the prices, we did not hide in our homes; instead, Nawaz Sharif instructed me to go to the people and tell them I understand their problems,” she said.
She blamed former premier Imran Khan for the rising inflation in the country, saying that the agreement his government signed with the IMF was causing the prices to soar.
“Imran has lost his sense as soon as he lost power,” she said. “He is the first politician in the country’s 70-year history who has asked the ‘neutrals’ to bring him back to power.”
Blaming the PTI government for the several hour-long power blackouts in the country, Maryam said that the PML-N government had resolved the chronic issue, but it re-emerged due to the previous incapable rulers.
She said the PML-N government dealt with the problem in the past and will do so in the future.
She said that PM Shehbaz has strictly ordered that the masses should get sugar, wheat and other commodities in utility stores at cheap rates in abundance. Maryam said that even if the price of petrol is lowered by 1$ in the international market, the premier will give relief to the people. She also said that Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz will announce the biggest relief package in the history of Punjab today (Monday).
“Imran Khan has challenged us by messing up everything, but Shehbaz Sharif will fix everything,” she maintained.
She said that Imran Khan’s government was on “support” for four years, and when it was gone, his government was no more.
Talking about the alleged leaked audio clip of former first lady Bushra Bibi, Maryam said that ex-PM’s wife used to ask to run traitor trends on Twitter.
She said that Farah Khan, a friend of Bushra Bibi, fled to Dubai after looting the resources of the people of Punjab, but the former first lady calls her a “child”.
