Nawaz Sharif lauds India yet again, says ‘our neighbours reached Moon’

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has once again lauded India over the economic progress made by the country's arch-rival and neighbour. During a public address, Sharif said India had reached the Moon while Pakistan was yet to rise from the ground.

"We have been responsible for our own downfall, otherwise this nation would have reached a different place," said Sharif.

"Our neighbours have reached the moon but we haven't even risen from the ground so far. It can't keep going on like this," he added.

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Sharif's statement comes a day after he said neither India nor the US were responsible for Pakistan's economic downfall.

“Today where Pakistan has reached (in terms of the state of the economy) this is not done by India, the US or even Afghanistan. In fact, we shot ourselves in our own foot…they (a reference to the military) imposed a selected (government) on this nation by rigging the 2018 polls that led to the sufferings of the people and downfall of the economy,” Sharif, the three-time prime minister who is vying to gain power for the fourth time, said.

Sharif taking a soft and rather progressive line concerning India is not a new phenomenon. When India successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the south side of the Moon, Sharif made a similar comparison between the two countries.

"Today Pakistan's prime minister goes country to country to beg for funds while India has reached the moon and is holding G20 meetings. Why Pakistan couldn't achieve the feats India did. Who is responsible for this here?" he said at the time.

Watch |Nawaz Sharif: 'Mending relations with neighbours crucial for Pakistan'

Sharif eyeing return to power in Pakistan

Sharif, holed upin London since 2019, has been looking to make a comeback to Pakistan's political stage for a long time. The whispers surrounding his return to Pakistan soil had started doing the rounds since November last year when he was issued a five-year diplomatic passport by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He later received a booster shot of confidence when the Islamabad High Courtacquitted him in theAl-Aziziya reference case.The two-judge bench of IHC, comprising Chief JusticeAamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict. The same bench had acquitted him in the Avenfield property case last month as well.

Although acquittal in both cases paved way for Sharif's return to Pakistan, he still has another hurdle to cross. He remains disqualified from holding office by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. The apex court, while interpreting Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitutionruled that the disqualification is for life.

(With inputs from agencies)