Salahuddin Haider
An unguarded statement from Maryam Nawaz, ambitious and often trying to be over-smart, has whipped up a storm, that has already affected the PML(N) considerably, and her refusal to be cautious may well sink it to rock-bottom level.
Seen in current perspective, her claim that none of her party members met the army chief’s meeting on Gilgit-Baltistan issue, drew and instant flak from party’s senior leaders like Mohammad Zubair, Ahsan Iqbal, and Khawaja Asif, two of them seen by the people as the most reliable colleagues of her father Nawaz Sharif.
Over-stubborn from childhood, and refusing to heed to logic or reason, Maryam has often been viewed by independent analysts as striding slowly towards the stewardship of the Party. It is difficult to understand how could she resort to such a remark, when she knew that atleast 3 or 4 of her party’s main pillars have not only attended the COAS meeting, but defended it unhesitatingly in full view of the public.
Both Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Asif were on TV screen, pleading that consultations between politicians and armed forces on ticklish issues was not only necessary, but sometime absolute necessity. Such meetings do help create consensus between important segments of the society.
To add insult to injury, former Sindh governor Mohammad confirmed a simple remark from DGISPR Major General Iftikhar Babar that the former had met the army chief twice within a fortnight, in the last week of August, and on September 7.Both these meetings took place at the request of former Governor. The ISPR chief also said that at both these meeting, one of which was also attended by ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hamid, MR Zubair pleaded for relief for Nawaz Sharif and the daughter.
Whether all these counter-statements, embarrassed Maryam,, was not known, for there came no rebuttal of these. Opposition leader Sheikh Rashid. Jumping the gun, was quick to retort that he has been saying for weeks now that NOON league and PPP leaders were in touch with the establishment. Their key figures were wearing two many hats or perhaps too many masks at the same time. They hurled stones t others while being in glass houses themselves. He said he and Shahbaz Sharif were at th same dinner table in one of these meetings, called by the army bosses.
Maryam’s main contention was that the Gilgit-Batistan was not a security issue on which consultations with the army was required. This was pure political issue, and need to be sorted out in the Parliament. But Mohammad Zubair, whose father, General Ghulam Omar, belonged to army’s top hierarchy under General Yahya khan, and was known as Henry Kissinger of his time, explained that during lengthy meetings, politics too is discussed, and Maryam and Nawaz too were a topic. Such kind of frank and unadulterated disclosures surely would have been a source of discomfort.
But then, one has to live with reality that for almost a year, stories about tug of war between Maryam and Shahbaz were in the air, and Maryam’s latest press conference of last week that there was only one and one leader of PML(N) which was Nawaz Sharif, and none can bypass her guidelines or instructions.
Sheikh Rashid, head of his own one-man Awami Muslim League party has been drawing attention towards an ever widening gulf between Nawaz and his younger brother. Experts too kept insisting that Noon League was a divided House, a fact which came close to confirmation during the 25th September Multi Party Conference, held under PPP Umbrella. Quite a few more stories on this kind, were going rounds for considerable length of time.
