The PML-N has won seats in every province. Its appeal is national, not provincial.
KARACHI: Nawaz Sharif’s victory in the polls has unfortunately become controversial due to several reasons. One set of his detractors is busy painting Mr Sharif’s victory in ethnic terms and consider him and his party to predominantly represent the interests of Punjab alone.
These views are extremely unfortunate and reflect a diseased thinking. We are all first and foremost Pakistanis. Our provincial identities are secondary. After the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment and the NFC Award, provinces are virtually autonomous and the federal government’s power and sphere of influence has restricted. Therefore, the new government at the centre can only play a limited role in the affairs of provinces it is not in control of and, therefore, already laying grounds to criticise the PML-N on that count is unfair.
The PML-N has won seats in every province. Its appeal is national, not provincial. According to some surveys, he is the most popular and trusted leader even in Balochistan.
In the light of this, I request Mr Sharif’s rivals to stop painting the PML-N victory in parochial terms.
Osama Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2013.
