‘PML-N strategy worked in Punjab as PTI no longer in power’

• Minister says Imran Khan ended up finishing his govt in Punjab.
• PML-N supremo has no immediate plans of returning to Pakistan, reveals Ahsan Iqbal.
• Federal minister says next general elections will be held on time.

LONDON: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal Friday said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) strategy had worked in Punjab, as Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) government "no longer exists" in the province.

Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan High Commission in London, United Kingdom, the federal minister said that his party's "strategy has won in Punjab”, as the PTI chairman wanted to end the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in the Centre but ended up finishing his own government in Punjab.

When asked by The News about the PML-N's strategy after a thumping win by Khan in the Punjab Assembly's vote of confidence which Chief Minister Parvez Elahi managed to secure, Iqbal said that it was PML-N’s plan which succeeded in the province.

He also spoke about meeting the party supremo Nawaz Sharif and Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz in London on Thursday.

“Within 10 days, Maryam Nawaz shall be back in Pakistan,” the minister said, adding that the PML-N supremo had no immediate plans of returning to Pakistan.

"There is a history of injustice towards Nawaz Sharif," he said, adding that the whole nation knew how the three-time prime minister was disqualified by the Supreme Court as well as how a monitoring judge was appointed to conclude his cases to exclude him from politics.

“Pakistan's present economic woes are directly linked with those events. The country was brought to its knees not overnight, but there is a history of how Pakistan was damaged in order to bring Imran Khan to power,” he said, adding that the PTI leader has nothing positive to offer.

Iqbal went on to say that the PTI government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) brought ruin to the country's economy and their decisions in the three-and-a-half years of power were responsible for inflation and financial chaos.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said, was trying hard to go around the world raising money to keep the country afloat and extinguish the fire caused by the PTI administration.

The minister also said that the next general elections would be held on time after the "census is completed". He also added that Imran Khan’s wish to occupy the prime minister's house again would not be fulfilled.

He further said that a decision had been made to overhaul the PML-N and Maryam would play a leading role in the party's rebranding and restructuring.

The minister, during the presser, also appealed to overseas Pakistanis to send money to the country through banking channels to support its struggling economy.