PM Shehbaz says didn’t care about ‘taunts’ of being called establishment’s man

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that he did not care about taunts labelling him “establishment’s man”.

At the inauguration ceremony of the Barha Kahu bypass project in Islamabad, the Prime Minister said, “I was called the establishment’s man, but I did not care about those taunts […] I never met army chiefs for personal reasons; the only motive behind those meetings was to ensure that the establishment and governments take the country forward together.”

Acknowledging that in his 38 year long political career, he met many army chiefs but only to ensure that, “Islamabad’s government and Rawalpindi’s establishment remain on the same page.”

Mentioning rumors that he was close to former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and military dictator, the late General Pervez Musharraf, Shehbaz asked what did he get.

“Nawaz Sharif was thrown into jail and so was I. He went to Attock, so did I. He went to Landhi jail, so did I. Nawaz Sharif was exiled, so was I. Even my family was exiled,” he commented.