Home TRENDING HOW WILL NAWAZ SHARIF’S COMEBACK AFFECT PAKISTANI POLITICS?

HOW WILL NAWAZ SHARIF’S COMEBACK AFFECT PAKISTANI POLITICS?

HOW WILL NAWAZ SHARIF'S COMEBACK AFFECT PAKISTANI POLITICS?

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Preparations have begun to welcome Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister of Pakistan, who will return home next month from London, where he has been living for nearly four years, in advance of a vital national election.

Former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. SCREENGRAB

Many cities in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, have already decorated the streets with life-size posters of Sharif and demonstrations have been planned to celebrate his anticipated return.

On the predicted day of his visit, October 21, his center-right Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) party plans to gather a gathering of 1 million people at the historic Iqbal Park in Lahore, the city of Punjab and the power base of the ex-premier’s party.

Many people in his country see him as a saviour, a political messiah who can save their country from the economic and political issues that have been afflicting it since April of last year.

Ahead of the general elections scheduled for the last week of January, the PML-N is hopeful that Sharif can take the helm again in the face of mounting public resentment over its poor handling of the economy during its 16-month reign with a coalition government that ended in August.

In the words of Mohammad Zubair, a top PML-N politician and Sharif’s close friend, “party workers and supporters are indeed very excited,” considering the fact that he is the only one who can lead the party in this critical circumstances and make a difference.

Former governor of Sindh province in the south Zubair stated the party is “not in a position” to run without Sharif in the upcoming elections.

It’s impossible for the party to win elections without him, he said.

Not going to be a picnic.

Sharif’s backers hope to win over voters by pointing to his record in office, particularly the years 2013-2018, which witnessed a dramatic drop in terrorist attacks, the construction of new infrastructure, the resolution of a long-standing power issue, and a reasonably stable economy.

But according to Zubair, things are much harder now.

The current economic climate is unprecedented. We have to face that reality,” he added, adding that the party must devise a plan to restore faith in the future.

As the saying goes, “It won’t be a walk in the park.”

The country was on the verge of default in July before it received a last-minute bailout from the International Monetary Fund due to a faltering economy and a surging cost of living crisis that worsened during Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif’s tenure as prime minister from April 2022 to August 2023. However, his government pointed the finger at former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration for the deteriorating economic situation.

Over 12 million Pakistanis have dropped below the poverty line in the past year, according to a World Bank report released last week. Nearly 40 percent of the country’s 240 million people are now considered to be living in poverty.

Numerous issues

Some political commentators have said that Sharif faces a “pile of problems” in his effort to restore his party’s flagging fortunes.

Karachi-based political analyst Aamer Ahmed Khan argues that the former prime minister has “very little” to offer voters in light of the current situation, particularly in light of the dismal performance of the departing coalition administration.

“At this point, Sharif has very little to offer,” he said to Anadolu.

According to him, the PML-N is “struggling for a narrative” to build its election campaign around like every other political party.

He stated that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the lone notable deviation.

After losing a vote of no confidence in his administration in April 2022, Khan is currently serving time in prison for graft.

That, however, has done little to erode his nationwide support.

“Nawaz Sharif seems to be unaware of the extent to which on-ground dynamics have changed during his four-year absence,” claimed Khan.

According to the article, “He clearly believes that calling for accountability of a couple of generals and judges whom he holds responsible for Pakistan’s economic decline over the past five years will be enough.”

To clarify, he was alluding to recent statements made by Sharif calling for the removal of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former ISI Director General Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, and another retired supreme court judge.

While these guys have refuted Sharif’s allegations, he holds them responsible for his removal from office in 2017 after the Supreme Court ruled that he was unable to serve in that capacity.

Khan asserted that the PML-N “clearly” opposes this narrative and the fact that Sharif has not returned to Pakistan.

“As such, their struggle to find a credible narrative still seems to be a work in progress,” he argued.

Issues of the Past

Sharif entered politics in the 1980s, during a period of martial law in Pakistan, and his relationship with the country’s powerful military has always been tense.

In 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan fired one of his governments, and in 1997, former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf did the same.

After inquiries into the Panama Papers scandal ended his most recent reign in power six years ago, he lost the right to hold office for life.

The departing Parliament, however, passed a contentious bill limiting lifetime disqualification of MPs to five years, paving the way for Sharif to run in the upcoming election.

The 73-year-old politician has had a turbulent career spanning over four decades, during which time he has been repeatedly arrested, convicted in court, jailed, and even pushed into exile.

His regime was overthrown by General Musharraf in a coup on October 12, 1999, and he has been accused of everything from corruption to plane hijacking in connection with that day.

In 2019, after spending years in prison following his conviction in a corruption case, Sharif took a plane to London for medical treatment and never came back.

People in Pakistan often refer to the country’s formidable military as “the establishment,” and many perceive Sharif as a friendly link between them.

The political analyst Khan disputes that view.

He seems to be on a different page than the powers that be. His political affiliation suggests otherwise, however. That, he claimed, is what his political party is focused on right now, not the (legal) proceedings against him.

We have little choices.

Hassan Askari, a political analyst in Lahore, believes that the Pakistani establishment has exhausted all of its alternatives.

The power structure is trying to find an exit. Askari told Anadolua that they had little options for moving forward, to Nawaz Sharif’s favour.

Having Imran Khan on one side and Nawaz Sharif and his allies on the other is like being sandwiched between a hard and a rock. Sharif has the upper hand since Khan has been knocked out by his fight against the establishment.

It is commonly believed, as stated by Askari, that Sharif is attempting to win back some of his party’s dwindling support by making pronouncements regarding the accountability of retired judges and army personnel.

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