In Farewell Speech, Pak PM Sharif Accuses Imran Khan's Govt Of Damaging Country's Ties With Friendly Nations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that his government had to bear the burden of the past regime's negligence and failures during its 16-month rule as he accused Imran Khan's government of badly damaging Pakistan's relations with friendly countries.

The Prime Minister, who led a 13-party coalition, a first in the government, termed his 16-month-long tenure as the ''most difficult test of my life".

"I never had to go through such a difficult test before in my 38-year-long [political] career as the country was mired in a severe economic crisis, oil prices remained high and there was political chaos," Sharif said while addressing the farewell session of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

He lashed out at the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party government led by Khan, saying they had to bear the burden of the past regime's negligence and failures during their 16-month rule.

Sharif, who replaced Khan following the former cricketer-turned-politician's removal through a no-confidence vote in April last year, said that the previous government badly damaged Pakistan's ties with friendly countries.

"The attitude towards friendly countries is not hidden from anyone," said the premier, in a veiled reference to the "cipher" controversy that strained Pakistan's ties with the US. He had earlier accused Khan's government of slowing down the pace of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Sharif also hit out at the Khan-led previous government for taking heavy loans and "bowing our heads before the world".

The past government took steps on the most important internal matters of Pakistan, which created the worst atmosphere in the country and spread poisonous propaganda, he said.

Sharif asserted that his government did "not send any political rival to jail or bothered them unfairly. This was never our practice." "We are not happy about it," he said, referring to Khan's conviction and sentencing in a corruption case last week. "Imran Niazi sacrificed the country for his own interests," he said.

He said that Khan's imprisonment was not a cause for celebration, dismissing claims that sweets were distributed by his party when the PTI chief was arrested.

"One should not curse even his enemies. There is no question of distributing sweets [by my party members]. If someone has done so, it is not a good tradition," he said.

Sharif also condemned the May 9 violence following Khan's arrest linked to another corruption case, saying the day will be "remembered as a black day".

"It was a rebellion against the army, the state and [army chief] Gen Asim Munir," he said and urged the House to adopt a resolution that "no one will be allowed to commit such acts against the state or army of Pakistan ever again".

Talking about the surge of terrorism, he lashed out at the decision taken by the previous Khan-led government. "The former prime minister invited them (terrorists) to come and settle in Pakistan. The move backfired as terrorism resurfaced, wreaking havoc in Swat and beyond," he said.

Sharif also said that there was no deadlock over the appointment of the caretaker prime minister. He said he would meet Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz to discuss the candidates for the interim premier. ''Tomorrow will be our first meeting, and as per the Constitution, we will have three days to reach a decision," he said.

The prime minister announced that he would write to President Dr Arif Alvi tonight to dissolve the National Assembly, three days before the end of its constitutional term.

The five-year tenure of the 342-member lower house of Parliament was scheduled to expire on August 12.

President Alvi can either issue a notification forthwith to dissolve the assembly or can delay it for 48 hours and after that, it will stand dissolved.

If Alvi agrees to dissolve the House, it will be the second time the President will be dissolving the assembly. First, in April 2022, then-Prime Minister Khan advised its dissolution, which he followed but the move was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court.

Earlier, the prime minister chaired a farewell meeting of the cabinet where he praised coalition partners for showing maturity, sincerity, dedication, and loyalty to the cause of bringing economic stability to the country.

In a tweet, Sharif said that "in the special cabinet meeting today, I thanked my cabinet colleagues for their cooperation and support. I was deeply humbled by their kind words for my person".

The 15th National Assembly came into existence following the election held on July 25, 2018, and its first session was inaugurated on August 13. The National Assembly is being dissolved earlier to get more time for holding elections.

Over the course of its tenure, the assembly witnessed the election of one president, two prime ministers, two speakers, and two deputy speakers.