Nawaz Sharif will be PM candidate only if PML-N wins majority: Shehbaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be the party’s candidate for the top slot of prime minister if his party secures a simple majority in the general election.

Shehbaz Sharif was speaking to Geo News on the eve of the polls, he said that Nawaz Sharif will be the candidate for prime minister if the party gets a simple majority, otherwise, the decision (for any other candidate) will be made through consultation.

When asked if the PML-N gets a simple majority, will Nawaz Sharif or he be the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif said that Nawaz Sharif will be the party’s candidate for the prime ministerial post, but if the party falls short of a majority, the decision will be made by consultation.

He claimed that his party saved Pakistan from default and terrorism, and vowed to make big decisions for the country’s economic revival.

He said that the PML-N had almost eliminated terrorism from the country with the sacrifices of the people and the security forces, but some erroneous decisions taken three years ago had given a new lease of life to the terrorists.

He said that the PML-N also rescued Pakistan from the brink of default by improving its economic indicators and increasing its foreign reserves. He said that the people will decide on Thursday which party will form the next government.

Shehbaz said that the country will have to go for another programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the economic challenges, and will have to sell such assets that were causing losses to the national exchequer.

He said that there are only a few hours left in the election, and the blasts that have rocked the country in the past few days mimed to scare the voters and keep them away from the polling stations.

He said that the PML-N had empowered women and given them representation in the party. He said that there were three women in the party’s parliamentary board meeting, and the party had set up the first women’s centre in Multan and vocational centres for thousands of women in Punjab.

He said that Nawaz Sharif’s illness was serious and life-threatening, and the government at that time had formed a medical board to examine his condition. He said that Nawaz Sharif had gone to London for treatment on the advice of doctors.