LAHORE
\nEyeing a fourth stint as prime minister, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif expressed optimism on Thursday that the people would support his party in the next general elections scheduled for Feb 8 next year, after he stands vindicated in \u201cbogus\u201d and \u201cbaseless\u201d graft cases brought against him.
\nIn a recorded message televised on news channels, the former prime minister conveyed his hope that the people of Pakistan would announce their judgement on the election-day, putting an end to the punishment brought upon them.
\nSince his return, Nawaz has time and again called for holding those behind his 2017 ouster accountable, arguing that they punished the entire nation, not just him and his family.
\nAs the three-time premier contemplates another bid for the position of prime minister, the only remaining legal obstacle preventing him from participating in the upcoming general elections is his lifetime disqualification as a parliamentarian in the Panama Papers case.
\nNawaz Sharif, who ended his self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom in October this year, has so far been acquitted in the Al Azizia and Avenfield references by the Islamabad High Court.
\nThe PML-N leader said that he had been receiving congratulations on his legal victories, and people across the country were sending him messages of support. He emphasised that the public did not believe the false propaganda run against him.
\nHe thanked the nation for supporting him and his party through testing times, stating that it was not just his victory, but the victory of the entire nation.
\nNawaz deplored that whenever he took the reins as the prime minister from his predecessors, he found the country in tough and dire conditions. He asserted that he worked selflessly for the well-being of his people, but conspirators would repeatedly end his government and drag him into court.
\nNawaz alleged that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the accountability watchdog, had initiated a witch hunt against him on the orders of a former Supreme Court judge.
\nHe said that all the conspirators who overthrew the PML-N governments now stood exposed. \u201cThe testimonies coming from those quarters he had never thought about were proof of this.\u201d
\nThe former premier deplored that he had been referred to as the \u201cSicilian Mafia,\u201d \u201cGodfather,\u201d and more by judges, but added that he had entrusted all his affairs to Almighty God, who vindicated him in the face of obstacles.
\nNawaz also recalled enduring character assassination, abuse, and jail. He regretted that he could not even attend the funeral of his father or spend time with his dying spouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE Eyeing a fourth stint as prime minister, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif expressed optimism on Thursday that the people would support his party in the next general elections scheduled for Feb 8 next year, after he stands vindicated in \u201cbogus\u201d and \u201cbaseless\u201d graft cases brought against him. In a recorded message televised on news channels, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-374435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n