ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday unveiled the election manifesto of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and vowed to drastically cut inflation, enhance trade through exports and promote peace with neighboring countries, as the South Asian country heads for polls slated for Feb. 8.
Electioneering is gaining momentum in the nation of 241 million people by the day as political parties gear up for national polls less than two weeks away. The PML-N, which has won elections thrice and formed a government most recently in April 2022 after ousting former prime minister Imran Khan in a parliamentary vote, is a strong contender in the upcoming polls.
Sharif’s party has always positioned itself as one that champions development and takes credit for building a vast network of roads and launching state-of-the-art mass transit projects in Pakistan. The party has vowed to rid the country of its pressing issues of inflation and militancy.
“A lot of hard work has gone into preparing, writing and printing this manifesto,” Sharif told reporters at a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore. “If Allah allows us to form our government once again, we will fully implement it.”
Sharif spoke highly of his previous tenure as prime minister from 2013-2017, regretting what he called were conspiracies hatched by his opponents, especially former prime minister Imran Khan, to oust him from power.
“What did you do during your four years in power,” Sharif asked, referring to Khan’s tenure from 2018-2022 as the country’s prime minister. “Can you even put one finger to a project that you fulfilled?”
The party’s ambitious election manifesto, a copy of which was seen by Arab News, aims to bring inflation down to single-digit figure within one year and in five years, reduce it drastically to 4-5 percent. The document also states that the party would take Pakistan’s annual exports to $60 billion in five years and enhance workers’ remittances to $40 billion annually.
The PML-N said it would enhance public wages to “match inflation” and achieve a 6.0 plus gross domestic product (GDP) target within three years of forming its government.
As far as its plans to provide cheap power are concerned, the manifesto said the party would reduce electricity bills by 20-30 percent, produce another 15,000 megawatts and provide subsidies to farmers and the underprivileged.
On international relations, the party vowed to “forge even closer ties” with China and deliver the next phase of the multi-billion economic corridor with Beijing.
“The PML-N strongly holds the position that normalization of ties with India cannot take place till New Delhi reverses the unilateral measures taken on August 5, 2019,” the manifesto read.
“Relations anchored in mutual respect, shared vision for regional stability and economic growth.”
Pakistan, which is being run by a caretaker government under Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, is scheduled to hold national polls next month.
Sharif, who arrived in Pakistan in October last year to lead the PML-N ahead of polls, is eyeing a victory in the elections once again to become prime minister for the fourth time.
Political analysts say the PML-N manifesto is “ambitious” but most of the targets are achievable only through a proper strategy and good governance.
“Majority of the targets set in the manifesto are achievable, but the issue is political stability and trust of the people in the political system,” Dr. Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a political scientist, told Arab News.
He said the biggest issue at the moment was to see if the elections would be free and fair to reflect the “actual public mandate” in the upcoming government.
“The PML-N has been in power before, so it is pertinent to ask them as to why they failed to implement the reforms in legal and judicial system they are promising now to the public,” he said.
Dr. Khurram Shahzad, a senior economist, said the promises in the manifesto would remain superficial unless a proper strategy was devised to implement them.
“We need a complete overhaul of our economic and taxation system to boost the government’s revenues instead of mere cosmetic measures to fix them,” he told Arab News.
“Also, the strategy of how to do and achieve it all is conspicuously missing from the PML-N manifesto.”
Ex-PM Sharif unveils party’s election manifesto as Pakistan gears up for polls
https://arab.news/jaqdb
Ex-PM Sharif unveils party’s election manifesto as Pakistan gears up for polls
- In ambitious manifesto, Sharif’s PML-N party promises to drastically slash inflation and enhance wages
- Analysts say majority of the targets are achievable, but require overhaul of economic, taxation system
Pakistan strikes $4 billion deal to sell weapons to Libyan force, officials say
- Pakistan’s defense industry spans aircraft, vehicles, and naval construction
- The deal, spread over two-and-a-half years, includes JF-17 jets, officials say
KARACHI: Pakistan has reached a deal worth over $4 billion to sell military equipment to the Libyan National Army, four Pakistani officials said, despite a UN arms embargo on the fractured North African country.
The deal, one of Pakistan’s largest-ever weapons sales, was finalized after a meeting last week between Pakistan military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the LNA, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, said the four officials.
The officials, all involved in defense matters, declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the deal.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry, defense ministry and military did not respond to requests for comment.
Any arms agreement with the LNA is likely to face scrutiny given Libya’s long-running instability following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi and split the country between rival authorities.
A copy of the deal before it was finalized that was seen by Reuters listed the purchase of 16 JF-17 fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft that has been jointly developed by Pakistan and China, and 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft, used for basic pilot training.
One of the Pakistani officials confirmed the list was accurate while a second official said the arms on the list were all part of the deal but could not provide exact numbers.
One of the Pakistani officials said the deal included the sale of equipment for land, sea and air, spread over 2-1/2 years, adding it could also include the JF-17 fighter jets. Two of the officials said the deal was valued at more than $4 billion, while the other two said it amounted to $4.6 billion.
The LNA’s official media channel reported on Sunday that the faction had entered a defense cooperation pact with Pakistan, which included weapons sales, joint training and military manufacturing, without providing details.
“We announce the launch of a new phase of strategic military cooperation with Pakistan,” Haftar said in remarks broadcast on Sunday by Al-Hadath television.
Authorities in Benghazi also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The UN-recognized Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, controls much of western Libya, while Haftar’s LNA controls the east and south, including major oilfields, and does not recognize the western government’s authority.
ARMS EMBARGO
Libya has been subject to a UN arms embargo since 2011, requiring approval from the UN for transfers of weapons and related material.
A panel of experts said in a December 2024 report to the UN that the arms embargo on Libya remained “ineffective.” The panel said some foreign states had become increasingly open about providing military training and assistance to forces in both eastern and western Libya despite the restrictions.
It was not immediately clear whether Pakistan or Libya had applied for any exemptions to the UN embargo.
Three of the Pakistani officials said the deal had not broken any UN weapons embargo.
One of the officials said Pakistan is not the only one to make deals with Libya; another said there are no sanctions on Haftar; and a third said Benghazi authorities are witnessing better relations with Western governments, given rising fuel exports.
PAKISTAN EYEING MARKETS
Pakistan has been seeking to expand defense exports, drawing on decades of counterinsurgency experience and a domestic defense industry that spans aircraft production and overhaul, armored vehicles, munitions and naval construction.
Islamabad has cited its Air Force’s performance in clashes with India in May.
“Our recent war with India demonstrated our advanced capabilities to the world,” military chief Munir said in remarks broadcast by Al-Hadath on Sunday.
Pakistan markets the Chinese co-developed JF-17 as a lower-cost multi-role fighter and has positioned itself as a supplier able to offer aircraft, training and maintenance outside Western supply chains.
Pakistan has also been deepening security ties with Gulf partners, signing a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia in September 2025 and holding senior-level defense talks with Qatar.
The Libya deal would expand Pakistan’s footprint in North Africa as regional and international powers compete for influence over Libya’s fragmented security institutions and oil-backed economy.
