In the run-up to the polls on February 8, political parties are using their electoral manifestos to win over voters. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asserted that under its previous government, it successfully tackled corruption.
The PML-N leader, Nawaz Sharif, made the comments on Saturday at a political event in Gujranwala. He highlighted a Transparency International report that showed Pakistan’s improvement in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The watchdog said last month that under the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition administration, the nation was placed 133 out of 180, while under the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the country was ranked 140.
Nawaz attacked the PTI, which has long claimed to have eradicated corruption, without naming names, saying: “[Even] Transparency International stated that corruption was at its lowest under our administration.
“They [PTI] were staging sit-ins [while] we were establishing power plants,” the three-time prime minister remarked, referencing the party’s 2014 sit-in under the leadership of Khan.
Recalling his years as the nation’s top executive from 2013 to 2017, Nawaz asserted that the PML-N administration was successful in combating widespread inflation as well as corruption.
“If our government had been in office longer, not a single person in this group would be unemployed.
The leader of the PML-N stated, “People are struggling to pay their electricity bills,” and if elected, he pledged to restore the glory of the nation.
Nawaz’s comments coincide with the party’s campaign for its economic agenda following the alarming economic data that has engulfed the nation in recent months.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto, is the main opponent of the PML-N’s election manifesto. The PPP is also promising significant economic relief, such as social welfare, free healthcare, and electricity, in an effort to win over voters who have been hit hard by rising utility costs and inflation.
