‘This is not accountability but exploitation!’

• Nawaz says JIT members acting as if they are Sadiq and Ameen
• Those talking of Naya Pakistan couldn’t even make Naya Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday warned his opponents not to test his patience and said he was being victimised in the name of accountability; something which the people would not accept.

“No one will accept ‘accountability’ led by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). So stop this circus now, and do not test my patience. Do not test it my brother,” he said in a strong message to his opponents, while addressing the public gathering after the inauguration of the 10km long Lowari Tunnel.

“I want to tell the JIT, PTI and other politicians that no one will accept accountability from you. This is not accountability but exploitation. I can guarantee no one in Pakistan will accept this,” he said. He also hit out at the JIT members, saying they act as if they were ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Amin’ like angels.

“There is no taint of corruption on us. This drama should stop. Do not test my patience anymore,” he warned. He said that he had not been brought into power by the votes of those people and they had no right to ask for his resignation. “I have always asked what corruption have I done? Have I got some commission by selling trees? Did I get kickbacks of billions in Lowari Tunnel, in new roads, or power projects,” he asked.

“I only bow to Almighty Allah and no one else. I cannot tolerate such ridiculous allegations against me. For me, my respect and that of my family is far more important than anything else,” he said. He said that anyone daring to disrespect him should first see his own deeds.

Prime Minister Nawaz who earlier unveiled a plaque to inaugurate the project said that today some people were seeking accountability of a person who was building power plants, roads, infrastructure and changing the lives of the people. He said that those demanding his resignation needed a reality check as they had been rejected by the masses, not only in 2008, 2013 and would be rejected again in 2018.

Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated the 10km long Lowari Tunnel and said that the much-awaited tunnel was now open for traffic and now the people could utilise it. He said that the people of Chitral and Dir would be at the forefront in defeating such elements. He said that it was the Pakistan Muslim League-N that was building the real new Pakistan and said after completing the Lowari Tunnel, they would also build a women university in Chitral.

He mentioned several other projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including the Hazara Motorway. He said that it was his party that was also building the new Pakhtunkhwa. He said that it was his desire to build a motorway type road upto Chitral and upgrade it to the level of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Nawaz said that earlier Chitral was cut off from other parts of the country and had no means of communication for four months in the winters.

He said that the project was launched in 1974 and should have been completed by 1980, but no one was interested in completing the project and serving the people living in this remote area. He said that over 98 per cent of the work had been completed while assuring that the rest would complete soon. He said that he asked the National Highway Authority chairman to complete the project.

The prime minister also announced provision of electricity for Dir and said efforts were underway for providing it natural gas. He said that no matter, what it would cost, the people of Dir would definitely get the gas. He accepted the demands of MNA Iftikharuddin, who got his seat from former president Pervez Musharraf’s party, and said it was during Musharraf’s tenure that he was handcuffed and sent behind the bars.