Those who brought Imran equally responsible for all of Pakistan's ills: Nawaz Sharif

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the country's problems stemmed not only from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan but also from "those who brought him to power".

Addressing a gathering of the newly elected parliamentarians in Lahore, the former prime minister declared that "lies, abuse, indecency, immorality, and chaos" have been defeated in the by-elections.

The former three-time premier said that the PTI government brought Pakistan's economy and diplomacy to the brink of collapse.

"The PTI founder is not the only culprit; those who brought him are equally responsible," he said, while urging action against all those responsible.

Nawaz stated that the country was progressing rapidly during his tenure, saying that he had freed Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral lending institutions.

"If the pace of development had continued, today we would have had a significant place in the world," he added.

However, the PTI government reversed all the economic and diplomatic gains, he said, while accusing the party of promoting a culture of indecency in the country. "In the previous government's tenure, the country only saw destruction."

He added that the PTI government seemed as if it had "come to play cricket — and did just that for five years".

This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.