Nawaz takes a jibe at Imran Khan’s PTI at Gujranwala power show

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Saturday took a veiled jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), citing Transparency International's recent report on corruption in Pakistan.

Speaking at a political gathering in Punjab's Gujranwala city, Nawaz said: "[Even] Transparency International said that corruption was at its lowest during our tenure."

The three-time former prime minister's remarks come as last month, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) issued by the watchdog reflected Pakistan's improvement in the ranking to 133 in the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government in contrast to that recorded in the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government wherein the country was ranked at 140.

Nawaz's remarks come as the PTI, for years, premised its election campaign and motto on the promise to eliminate the scourge of corruption.

"They [PTI] were staging sit-ins [while] we were establishing power plants," Sharif said referring to the 2014 sit-in by then Khan-led party.

Recalling his tenure as the country's chief executive from 2013 to 2017, Nawaz claimed that the PML-N government not only succeeded in tackling corruption but also effectively addressed rampant inflation. "No one present here in this gathering would be unemployed if our government had continued its term.

"People are struggling to pay their electricity bills," the PML-N supremo said while promising to bring back the country's glory if he is voted into power.

Nawaz's remarks come as the party has been pushing its economic agenda in the wake of dire economic indicators that have gripped the country in recent months.

The PML-N's election manifesto is primarily facing challenges from the Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) which is also promising major economic relief provisioning social welfare, free healthcare and electricity, to gain public support who have been facing the brunt of rampant inflation and soaring utility bills.