Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that the PML-N would accept the public mandate in the upcoming polls while urging people to decide after comparing his government’s policies with that of PTI.

“The leadership of PML-N will change the country’s destiny if given an opportunity in the general polls,” he said while addressing a cheque distribution ceremony under the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme in Lahore.

The prime minister alleged that allegations, scandals and the use of foul language were rife during the former PTI government.

Toshakhana gifts were sold in a shabby manner and efforts were made by the PTI chief to protect his spouse from criminal cases, he claimed. “It was a heart-wrenching story but now it has become a part of the past,” he added.

Around $3 billion worth of loans were given to “powerful families” during the PTI’s government, he said and wondered why the amount was not spent on the future of youth.

The PTI chairman had a “phobia” about the PML-N leadership and the opposition as he was bent on putting them in jail with the framing of fake cases, the premier alleged.

“The worst kind of vengeance was unleashed against the opposition and the civil servants. What was the difference between Hitler and Imran Khan?” he said.

The prime minister claimed that Nawaz Sharif was ousted from power despite the fact that he had ended load shedding, provided laptops and loans to youth, and brought China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) power and road infrastructure projects in 2015.

Nawaz was accused of Panama papers and given punishment in Iqama charges, he said, adding that his brother appeared before courts regularly but the PTI chief was being granted bail.

All the youth programmes were started during the tenure of Nawaz as 50,000 vehicles were provided to the people on merit across Punjab province, he said and claimed that the success of the loan scheme could be gauged from the fact that 99% of the loans were returned back to banks.

The prime minister went on to add that despite facing experiencing several ordeals, the PML-N leaders “never thought” of anything against the country.

When the PTI chief was removed from power corridors through a constitutional manner, he used “dirty language and tactics” against the state institutions, PM Shehbaz added.

He claimed that during his tenure, around one million laptops were given to the youth while the PTI leadership blamed the government for using the scheme as a bribe.

The prime minister reiterated that the laptops were given on “merit”, and if proved otherwise, he would be held accountable as such resources belonged to the country.

While discussing the recent decline in petroleum products prices, he said that it was all possible due to the appreciation in the value of the rupee against the dollar which provided them an opportunity to pass on the relief to the public.

The crude oil price in the international market was still high, he added.

The prime minister said that it was due to the International Monetary Fund programme which brought stability in the value of rupee.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja informed that more than 100,000 new entrepreneurs were provided with loans under the recent programme. She added that loans of more than Rs30 billion were provided to the young people in the last five months,

In the agriculture sector, she added loans were also extended for seed, fertilizer and produce.