In farewell address, PM urges nation not to let ‘destruction’ seen after Nawaz era be foisted on country again

In his farewell address to the nation on Sunday as the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif urged the people not to let the “blackness and destruction” witnessed after former PM Nawaz Sharif’s tenure be foisted upon the country again.

His remark was an apparent reference to the PTI, which came to power after the end of Nawaz’s term. The Imran Khan-led party’s tenure saw a premature end after he was ousted from the PM’s office through a no-confidence vote in April last year.

In what seemed to be an appeal to the people to choose his party over Imran’s in the next elections, PM Shehbaz said, “We sacrificed our politics for the interests of Pakistan and its people.

“If we, as a nation, make the right decisions … you will emerge successful against inflation and economic destruction soon.”

The outgoing premier began his speech by announcing that he was handing over the responsibility of running the country to a caretaker government following the conclusion of his government’s 16-month tenure.

Referring to the ouster of Imran from the top office and the formation of a new government in April 2022, he said, “We came [to power] through constitutional means,” adding that his government was leaving contented that it had not been dishonest in using the powers given to it.