Lahore: Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted Friday that allowing former premier Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for treatment was the ‘biggest mistake’ of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government. Sharif, 72, is currently based in London, where he is receiving medical treatment since November 2019. The former prime minister and the principal opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo’s health has evoked considerable interest in Pakistan.
Sharif suffered from cardiac problems, apart from multiple health issues, according to media reports.
Imran Khan admitted his mistake while addressing a public gathering in Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistan’s Punjab province. He said Sharif was allowed to leave Pakistan as his government felt that the former PM might not survive even for a single day. “I admit today that we made the biggest mistake by allowing him [Nawaz] to go abroad,” Imran said.
In 2019, the Lahore High Court lifted a travel ban on Sharif. Initially, Khan was reluctant to let him go because Sharif had not even served 12 months of the seven-year prison sentence that was slapped on him owing to charges of corruption.
Imran Khan had wanted him to sign a bond worth PKR 7.7 billion before allowing him to travel. However, the High Court intervened and allowed Sharif to leave the country.
Khan’s mass public rally Friday was launched to counter the concerted efforts from opposition parties like PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples’ Party, among others who were trying to table a no-trust motion in Parliament and oust Khan from power.
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Khan’s salvo at his political adversary comes at a time when his popularity ratings have taken a hit across several regions in Pakistan. Sharif has a popularity rate of 58 per cent in Punjab, 46 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 51 per cent in Sindh provinces respectively. Compared to that, the incumbent Prime Minister could only muster 44 per cent in Punjab and 33 per cent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces respectively.
These results were part of the findings of a ‘Gallup Pakistan’ opinion survey that was conducted from December 22 to January 31, 2022, to test the popularity of Khan, Sharif and Pakistan Peoples’ Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.