AFTER four years in self-exile, Nawaz Sharif is back. After four years, the realization, or more like the re-realization that political careers in Pakistan never really end is also at the surface once again. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a story of reversals, a story of disqualifications, exiles, and jail time. The political journey for most seems like a triangle – PM office Islamabad, London, Adiala/Kot Lakhpat – the order of where you make a pitstop first depends on many factors… factors I will leave to your imagination.
Like many in Pakistan who have been ousted and reinstated, Mr Sharif is no exception. A little over twenty years ago, he was exiled as the ultimate result of a military coup. Political analysts at the time predicted that this would mark the end of his political career. That did not happen. Following that Mr Sharif first returned to the country in 2007 and then to power in 2013, with a third term of premiership under his name. Sharif then became the first person in Pakistan’s chequered history to have held the office of PM three times. At the time, given PML-N’s position in the parliament, it appeared that Mr. Nawaz Sharif would set another record i.e. becoming the first Prime Minister ever to complete the 5-year term. Alas, that was not to be.
In 2017, Senior Sharif was shown the door by the Supreme Court for not being honest. He was handed a disqualification from holding public office that was to be valid for his lifetime. It was a time when Mr Sharif came eye to eye with what seemed like a political juncture. He had a choice to make. He needed to decide between passively packing his bags and finally accepting the end of his political career or taking on the non-passive approach. Mr. Sharif took on the latter and decided to go on the offensive and take the institutions head-on. He believed his tenure was unfairly brought to an abrupt end. After one-and-a-half-year behind Kot Lakhpat, Sharif, with permission boarded the plane to London on medical grounds.
While many may have understood even then, to me what this boarding meant was not clear. However, in retrospect, it now seems as if, as Nawaz Sharif’s plane ascended to the heights of the glorious sky, so too did his
relationship with his powerful antagonists. Whatever the case may have been, there are certain things that are undeniable. Four years have passed since then and much has changed. Mr Nawaz Sharif has now returned to a very different Pakistan. A country economically fragmented, socially divided, and politically polarised. He has returned to a country where Imran Khan’s populism, PTI’s continuing popularity, and its anti-establishment rhetoric has transformed the political landscape. He has returned to a nation that is young, growing, and exposed to the realities, national and international.
What this op-ed means, in simpler words is that PML-N will have to discard its traditional old-school ways of doing politics. Returning to a country that is so different requires a major reinvention in thought and actions. Mr. Sharif will need to put forth a new narrative – both personal and on a party level with an overhaul in terms of its image and purpose. The public sees through the narratives of the past and for this, senior Sharif and his allies must put together something for the future.
—The writer is Assistant Editor, daily Pakistan Observer, Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
