(21 Oct 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
++AUDIO AS INCOMING++
Lahore , Pakistan - 21 October 2023
1. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waving to supporters, Sharif holding hand of his daughter (Left) Mariam Nawaz and brother (Right) Shehbaz Sharif
2. Sharif waving to supporters (UPSOUND) “Nawaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif”
3. Supporters holding flags and mobile torches
4. Various of rally
5. Close of screen showing Sharif hugging his daughter and brother Shehbaz
6. Supporters cheering
7. Sharif holding a dove
8. Fireworks display
9. Various of rally
10. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister:
“They should get jobs, they should get a chance to become respectable Pakistanis. There should be no unemployment, no poverty, no diseases. Don't be ignorant, this is what Nawaz Sharif wants. I have no intention to take revenge on anyone, this is my prayer to Allah. I want betterment of this nation; I did before and Allah give power to Pakistan Muslim League to work for this nation”.
11. Various of rally
12. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister :
“Be united and make a plan for future. Our institutions, who follow constitution, political parties and pillars of state should work together. Should be together to work for the nation."
13. Wide of rally
14. Sharif waving Palestinian flag
15. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister:
“They (Palestinian) should get their right, so they live peacefully. Depriving them (Palestinian) of their right, giving their right to someone else, this is neither fair nor acceptable. Pakistan will never accept it. The Pakistani nation will not accept this."
16. Sharif leaving
17. Supporters clapping
STORYLINE:
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a massive rally in the eastern city of Lahore after his return from a self-impose exile in London.
Tens of thousands of supporters gathered at a public park to greet him.
In a speech there, Sharif said he was forgiving all those who caused harm to him in the past.
“I have no intention to take revenge on anyone,” he said in his televised speech.
Sharif, who was elected prime minister three times, is expected to face tough competition from the party of the former premier and his main rival, Imran Khan.
Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and is imprisoned after a court convicted and sentenced him to three years in a graft case.
Sharif has been a fugitive since he failed to appear before a Pakistani court in 2019 following his conviction and a 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
Khan, at the time, had allowed him to travel abroad to receive medical treatment after complaining of chest pains.
Sharif later prolonged his stay in London, saying his doctors were not allowing him to return to Pakistan.
A Pakistani federal court on Thursday granted him several days of protection in graft cases, clearing the way for his return.
At the rally, Sharif also announced his plan for reviving the country's ailing economy. He said his party would end unemployment.
Sharif said he wanted to work with all the state institutions for the betterment of the country.
His comments came as Pakistan struggles with a deepening political turmoil and one of its worst economic crises.
His party became hugely unpopular after Khan's removal, when Nawaz Sharif's brother, Shehbaz Sharif, replaced Khan.
Shehbaz, whose tenure ended in August, failed to improve the economy, though he saved Pakistan from default.
AP video show by Muhammad Farooq
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