LOWARI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday warned his opponents not to test his patience and said he was being victimised in the name of accountability, something the people of Pakistan would never accept.

“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 people at the inauguration ceremony of much-awaited Lowari Tunnel in Chitral.

Touching briefly on the ongoing proceedings against the Sharif family in the Panamagate case before the Supreme Court, the prime minister asked his opponents to inform him of the means through which he had earned money illegally. “They conducted a circus of dharnas in 2014 … and dug a grave for democracy,” he claimed, referring to the PTI’s Islamabad sit-in against alleged rigging in the 2013 election. “They wake up every morning and beg for my resignation,” he said. “Whoever thinks they should be ashamed of themselves, raise their hands,” he urged the crowd.

“I want to tell the joint investigation team, PTI and everybody else that the public will not accept accountability from you. What you are doing [with the Sharif family] is not accountability, but exploitation. I can guarantee no one in Pakistan will accept this,” the prime minister maintained.

“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? On the contrary, we saved Rs168 billion in three power projects. I cannot tolerate such ridiculous allegations against me. For me, my respect and that of my family is far more important than anything else,” the prime minister said, adding anyone daring to disrespect me should first see his own deeds.

The prime minister said when his party came into power, the world was viewing the country as a failed state and the country was plunged in darkness, along with depressing economic indicators, lawlessness and terrorism. He recalled that the four-month long sit-in in front of the parliament dug the grave of democracy, put a shroud on the constitution and law of the land, and tried in vain to bury the system. He said a staged play was enacted but we refused to bow to such elements of disruption and chaos. “I only bow to Allah Almighty and no one else.”

The prime minister said he had not been brought into power by the votes of those people and they had no right to ask for his resignation. “These projects have been undertaken by the PML-N. The people who rule here are not the ones doing this work,” he said, referring to the PTI’s provincial government.

“They said they wanted to make a ‘Naya Pakistan’. We encouraged them to make a ‘Naya Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)’, but even that they have been unable to do. We are the ones who are building a ‘Naya KP’,” he said.

The prime minister, who earlier unveiled a plaque to inaugurate the project, said some people were talking about his accountability these days. “They are seeking accountability of a person who is building power plants, roads and infrastructure and changing the lives of the people,” he said.

The prime minister said it was the PML-N that was building the real new Pakistan and said after completing the Lowari Tunnel, they will also build a women university in Chitral.

“We will make Chitral like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi,” he assured the residents of Chitral, who he said had largely avoided voting for him in the last general election.

He said it was his desire to build a motorway-type road upto Chitral. He said earlier Chitral was cut off from the entire country and had no means of communication for four months in the winters. He said the Lowari Tunnel was now open for traffic and the people could utilize it. The prime minister also announced provision of electricity for the people of Dir and said efforts were underway for providing it natural gas.

Published in Daily Times, July 21st, 2017.