Washington Post praises Nawaz’s progressive agenda

WASHINGTON:

The Washington Post has praised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his liberal agenda. In a recent report about his vision of a liberal and progressive Pakistan, it said Premier Nawaz feels that the international community needs a progressive Pakistan which is why he is trying to take the country towards progress and development.

According to the article, the prime minister thinks a moderate, progressive and liberal agenda can help fulfill his economic agenda. His present political policies are different from those he had in the 1990s. He has streamlined the country’s path towards progress.



Citing the analysts and high officials in the government, the article points out that Premier Nawaz stunned the powerful clergy of Pakistan by raising the slogan of a more liberal Pakistan in his address to the international business community last November. The shift in his rhetoric reflects the influence of his daughter Maryam Nawaz on his thinking.

The report mentions that Nawaz, when he held the office of prime minister twice in the 90s, tried to maintain to an understanding with the establishment. It added that when he won a majority with rural voters and religious support, it was thought that Pakistan would enter a stale style of governance. But now, he and his party are challenging the religious community and forging a new path.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2016.