PM says he will continue to serve nation

LAHORE/LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he would continue to work for a strong and prosperous Pakistan and would not be deterred in his mission to serve the country and that he was returning to Pakistan with the renewed resolve to push forward with his mission of building Pakistan.

He said that sit-ins were not the solution to any problem as the way forward was based on reconciliation and better understanding and joint efforts.

The prime minister was accorded a warm welcome at Jatti Umra as he returned after a one-and-a-half months stay abroad.

In an exclusive interview on board the PIA flight with this correspondent, Nawaz Sharif said that that no conspiracy against democracy would succeed because the people of Pakistan know well the real faces of those known for hatching conspiracies.

On his way back from London to Lahore, Prime Minister Sharif spent his time occasionally chatting to his staff members and PIA crew. He offered namaz and recited the holy Quran during the journey. Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, his military secretary, security staff and PML-N UK President Zubair Gull accompanied him to Lahore.

Various government officials and PML-N leaders, including Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Governor and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and dozens of senior journalists and anchors, were at the airport to welcome the premier.

Speaking to this correspondent, Nawaz Sharif sounded upbeat and confident and said that it was his government’s mission to fulfill all its promises till the 2018 elections and then go to the public seeking a renewed mandate.

When asked about a possible alliance between the PPP and the PTI in the near future over the issue of PanamaLeaks, the PM didn’t answer directly but stressed that he had never violated the rules and would be vindicated. He said that that his government had formed a committee to cooperate with the opposition to chart out a united way forward on the issue of the Panama Papers. He said that he would continue to work towards national reconciliation and the strengthening of the democratic system. Nawaz Sharif said, “The people of Pakistan have rejected negative politics and will not tolerate anyone who promotes or gets involved in negative politics which is aimed at destabilising Pakistan or harming its interests.” He said that Pakistan had made progress in the last three years and as a result the whole world was acknowledging the bright economic outlook of Pakistan.

PM Sharif told this scribe that it was painful for him to stay away from Pakistan for over six weeks but he said that it was important for him to get the right treatment as per the advice of the doctors. He said that his medical team told him that he must not further delay his open heart surgery and it was in these circumstances that he had to undergo the treatment at the Harley Street Clinic.

PM Sharif said that he had been fully involved in the affairs of governance from London and the only exception were the days when he was admitted to the Harley Street Clinic for around five days. PM Nawaz Sharif revealed that “70 percent (of his) pain in the chest has gone away” and doctors said that he had made satisfactory progress since being discharged from the hospital.

Nawaz Sharif said that he was truly humbled by all the well wishes he had received from Pakistanis and others around the world. He said that in Pakistan as well as in London he received flowers and cards expressing best wishes and a speedy recovery for him. “I am truly humbled by such an outpouring of emotions and prayers by ordinary people. I can never thank enough those who prayed for me. I am sure that it’s because of the prayers of my well-wishers that I have been able to cope with the operation,” the prime minister told this scribe.

 He shared that it’s only when one personally goes through the ordeal of an operation that he realises how painful the whole process is and how one suffers. He said that “one should always thank Almighty Allah for all the blessings.”

The need for the surgery arose after the premier went through a cardiac procedure called Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in 2011 “during which certain complications occurred resulting in perforation of the heart”, Maryam Nawaz had earlier said.

Meanwhile, a source said that a special PIA flight was booked to bring PM Sharif to Pakistan because it was the advice of the doctors that the PM should travel in a plane which is not small because of the air pressure factor which is not good for a patient recovering after open heart surgery. The source said that the PIA aircraft was suitable for the PM because an aircraft of this size didn’t have much air pressure.

- Originally published in The News