Addressing the lower house soon after becoming the prime minister, Abbasi said: “I am grateful to you all, for following the democratic process — whether you voted for or against me.”
“I am grateful to the people of Pakistan, and I am grateful to the ‘people’s prime minister’, Nawaz Sharif,” Abbasi said in his acceptance speech.
“I am also grateful to the opposition and Imran Khan, for remembering us in their daily slandering,” he said.
“An unprecedented decision was taken last Friday. We accepted it as it was. We did not challenge the courts, there was no division in our ranks. The party stands as it was. No one wanted to joust for power — whoever the prime minister [Nawaz Sharif] named was supported unanimously,” he maintained.
“Everybody wants this chair [of prime minister]. Tell me, who in this house doesn’t? It is to the PML-N’s credit that the party rallied unanimously behind whoever was nominated by our leader.
“Within four days, the democratic process is back on track. There were no defections. There was no dissension in our ranks.
“Justice requires that a 1,000 guilty people may go free, but a single innocent person should be convicted. I will not go into details of the Friday’s decision — I only want to say that there will soon be another court, the one held by the people. There will be no JIT there.”
Commenting on the power projects taken up during the current tenure, Abbasi said there will be no load-shedding after November. He also mentioned the development and infrastructure projects initiated by the PML-N government as examples of its commitment to the country’s growth.
“Pervez Musharraf ruled the country for eight years, but show me one major development project from that era,” he said.
Praising the efforts of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Abbasi regarded him as the person who has worked day and night for the betterment of this country.