Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urged on Monday the children and young people to reject division, hatred and arson, adding that political differences must not descend into personal enmity.

Addressing a laptop distribution scheme at a Gujrat university, she said disagreement over policy was one matter, but personal hostility should never take root. “We have never said anyone’s food should be stopped,” she added.

Referring to PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, she said he had once asked for facilities to be provided equally, rather than withheld from opponents. She maintained that it had never crossed her mind to cause hardship to a political rival in prison.

Maryam Nawaz said her father’s platelets had dropped and he was mocked at the time. She added that he suffered several heart attacks in jail and was imprisoned at the age of 73.

The chief minister said power was a trust of the people and did not remain with any one individual. “Power is transient. Yesterday we were in jail; today we are in office,” she said.

Appealing to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, she asked them to open their eyes for the sake of God. She said those who forced businesses to close were not workers but unruly elements.

She criticised the province’s rulers, saying they merely delivered rhetoric and lacked understanding of development. She said children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should also be adorned with the ornament of education.

“It is no cause for pride. I am Punjabi later; Pakistani first,” she said.

Maryam Nawaz contrasted the situation in Punjab with that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying there was progress in Punjab while unrest prevailed there. She alleged that children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were told to block roads, whereas children in Punjab held laptops in their hands.

She added that violence was being instilled in the minds of children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that abusive language had become common among them.