Z A Bhutto nationalised our assets: Nawaz

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said here on Sunday that his father had developed assets through hard work and his Ittefaq Foundry was the biggest industry of the country in 1972, but the then prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, nationalised it. He said: "They snatched all our assets and nothing was paid." He added that his father, however, established six more industries by working hard.
"We had assets before my birth and even when Pakistan had not come into being. But we sacrificed all assets for Pakistan," he said while addressing a big public meeting at Dhobi Ghat here.
Nawaz said his father was a peasant and had developed assets through his hard work. The PML-N chief said, "We are being accused of being corrupt, and are being asked to declare assets. But I have never seen such a level of corruption, which today has engulfed the country."
Nawaz Sharif Sunday said only his party can steer the nation out of problems caused by load-shedding, unemployment and poverty, besides ensuring country's progress.
He demanded that a commission be constituted within two days to conduct a transparent inquiry into memo issue and it should be completed within nine days.
He said, if this demand of the PML-N was not met, he would file a petition in Supreme Court (SC). All the PML-N workers from Sindh, Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Balochistan and Khyber Pukhankhwa would also approach Islamabad to file their petitions in the SC, he added.
He said that he and his political party had a great respect for the Pakistan Army as an institution, but the army and intelligence agencies could not be allowed to play any role.
"We have evidence that secret agencies are supporting a certain political party. The agencies round up people for public meetings of that political party. But we are political people and believe in the support of the masses, who will decide the political future of the country," he added.
He, however, expressed satisfaction over the performance of the Punjab government, citing that provincial government had been working properly and striving hard for public welfare.
He said that people should support PML-N if they want to save Pakistan. Nawaz said that during his tenure the country was making progress by leaps and bounds but unfortunately, his government was usurped by a military dictator. He claimed that after his government, the people started experiencing a number of challenges including price hike, unemployment, joblessness and terrorism etc.
He said that other politicians are claiming to bring a change, but we have delivered and brought the change. "We started a number of development project including construction of Motorway but unfortunately we were not allowed to complete our tenure by a dictator."
Without naming PTI Chief Imran Khan, he said that he should not tell a lie and confuse the nation as "we are not in league with the government and waiting for our turn to run the country."
The meeting was also addressed by the opposition leader in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, MNAs Javaid Hashmi, Saad Rafiq, Abid Sher Ali, Sabir Shah former CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sardar Sana Ullah Zehri and others.