LAHORE: Former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan would have been one of the “Asian Tigers” had his government not been toppled by Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf.
“My government was busy in building infrastructure and roads and launching other mega projects with the help of good governance,” Nawaz said in an interview with a US-based TV channel, MHz Networks.
He said his government had been working through various channels to establish good relations with India, but Musharraf destroyed all his efforts in the Kargil conflict.
Nawaz said he had always wanted good relations with the US and other countries, adding that there was no truth in claims that his party believed otherwise.
He said the Charter of Democracy (CoD) he signed with Benazir Bhutto should have been implemented by the PPP-led government, as it would have been in the larger national interest. The PML-N chief said corruption, price hike, lawlessness and unemployment were the hallmark of the day and advised the government to take serious steps to do away with the evils.
He said he had already forwarded an agenda to the government in an effort to weed out the problems.
“I and my party will fully cooperate with the PPP for its implementation both in and outside parliament,” he said.
Nawaz said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had lauded the policies of his government and wanted to adopt them in India. “Today, the Indian government is working on reforms being pursued by then PML-N government,” Nawaz asserted.
Commenting on the Gwadar Port, the former prime minister said it had a strategic location and could be turned into a second Hong Kong. “This port is an asset for the country. It can prove a boon, particularly for the people and the province of Balochistan,” Nawaz said.He said his party wanted to see the country with an impregnable defence and nuclear capability.
The PML-N chief said Musharraf’s unconstitutional act had wasted seven years, otherwise “Pakistanis would not have needed to go to UAE to earn their bread”.
“During my governments in the 1990s, the Pressler Amendment and Kerry-Lugar Bill could not deter us from undertaking development work and developing infrastructure. No country can develop without a proper infrastructure. All developed countries are examples, including the US,” he said.
He said the judiciary had been taking notice of all that had been going on in the country, which was a welcome sign. Nawaz said opposition would oppose the GST bill in parliament and would not accept it at any cost.
Musharraf blocked Pakistan’s rise as ‘Asian Tiger’: Nawaz
