Is confrontation the only option for Sharif?
Political analyst believes Sharif’s defiant tactics not yielding results
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO:FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif may be in the eye of the storm but he is not ready to budge.
Defiant, relentless and unyielding these days, Sharif is ready to take on anyone and everyone who does not want to see him at the helm of affairs. From boisterously targeting the state institutions and ridiculing the rival politicians to turning a deaf ear to his own party members’ advice against confrontation, the ex-premier is in no mood to take the backseat.
The once most powerful politician of Pakistan has hardly spared words to slam the ongoing trial against him ordered by the Supreme Court. Sharif landed in Pakistan on Thursday to appear before the accountability court the following day. His plan being obvious: To fight it out ‘till the last’.
In this political hustle and bustle pops up a mind-boggling question: Is confrontation the only option for Sharif’s political survival? Many believe yes.
“It’s the battle for Sharif’s survival or else he will be irrelevant,” comments Kanwar Dilshad, a constitutional expert and ex-secretary Election Commission of Pakistan.
Sharif’s political relevance is at stake and he has nothing to lose after the premiership, according to the analyst.
“Imagine what options you have when you are the most powerful political personality, but end up with nothing in consequence of a court ruling? What else do you have to lose after the premiership? If you say, ‘okay, I accept everything in good grace and sit silent’, it’s obvious you are going to face political annihilation and others will replace you. You obviously don’t want this to happen,” he said.
This, according to Dilshad, is the reason Sharif continues to act in an aggressive mode — to swim through the odds with a flavour of political bitterness instead of exhausting legal options.
“And sitting silent is not an option. Bluntly put, there isn’t much for Sharif to base his case on in his defence in the court. So, crying foul is convenient to prefer style over substance,” he believes.
Political analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi says Sharif’s defiant actions are not yielding results. “This is not going to help. This is all about pressuring the accountability court and to delay the conviction but that’s not going to happen.”
PML-N mulls options ahead of Panamagate verdict
Rizvi says countrywide agitation in Sharif’s support best serves his motives which is unlikely due to lack of public support. “Mass mobilisation in show of his political power is the policy which has failed to work so far.”
The analyst believes the ruling camp is waiting for March to attain majority in Senate elections. “If that happens and PML-N goes to do legislation to corner state institutions like judiciary and security establishment, the consequences will be disastrous.”
One of Sharif’s trusted aides, Ameer Muqam, who is also the political adviser to incumbent Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, says the ex-premier is very much within his rights to raise a voice of dissent against the court judgment.
“Not that Mian Sahib [Sharif] has ever said he will defy the court orders. He has acted upon the court’s directives in letter and spirit. It took him no time to leave the office after the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Panamagate case was out. But do he and the people of Pakistan accept this verdict? No, and it’s our right, which no one can take,” says Muqam.
Sharif is becoming paranoid about 'untold conspiracies': Aitzaz
He puts forth a novel logic in the defence of his leader’s criticism of state institutions. “Has he ever specifically named any institution? If not, what is all this fuss about? PML-N’s entire vote bank is actually Sharif’s vote bank and the efforts to corner him will lead to nowhere. A leader of millions of people cannot be rendered irrelevant just like that.”
Regardless of the N-Leaguers’ publically-shared views, their unofficial opinions suggest otherwise. A party bigwig, requesting anonymity, says the feeling is deepening in the party that Sharif is battling it out for personal survival disregarding the repercussions of confrontational approach.
“There is confusion, chaos and complete disarray. Even loyalists have started thinking this is all about settling personal scores and not politics,” he says as party is locked in serious rifts amid echoing calls for Shehbaz Sharif to take over the party reins. “What other option does Mian Sahib have than to crib, cry and confront?”
Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif may be in the eye of the storm but he is not ready to budge.
Defiant, relentless and unyielding these days, Sharif is ready to take on anyone and everyone who does not want to see him at the helm of affairs. From boisterously targeting the state institutions and ridiculing the rival politicians to turning a deaf ear to his own party members’ advice against confrontation, the ex-premier is in no mood to take the backseat.
The once most powerful politician of Pakistan has hardly spared words to slam the ongoing trial against him ordered by the Supreme Court. Sharif landed in Pakistan on Thursday to appear before the accountability court the following day. His plan being obvious: To fight it out ‘till the last’.
In this political hustle and bustle pops up a mind-boggling question: Is confrontation the only option for Sharif’s political survival? Many believe yes.
No PML without ‘N’, say leaders
“It’s the battle for Sharif’s survival or else he will be irrelevant,” comments Kanwar Dilshad, a constitutional expert and ex-secretary Election Commission of Pakistan.
Sharif’s political relevance is at stake and he has nothing to lose after the premiership, according to the analyst.
“Imagine what options you have when you are the most powerful political personality, but end up with nothing in consequence of a court ruling? What else do you have to lose after the premiership? If you say, ‘okay, I accept everything in good grace and sit silent’, it’s obvious you are going to face political annihilation and others will replace you. You obviously don’t want this to happen,” he said.
This, according to Dilshad, is the reason Sharif continues to act in an aggressive mode — to swim through the odds with a flavour of political bitterness instead of exhausting legal options.
“And sitting silent is not an option. Bluntly put, there isn’t much for Sharif to base his case on in his defence in the court. So, crying foul is convenient to prefer style over substance,” he believes.
Political analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi says Sharif’s defiant actions are not yielding results. “This is not going to help. This is all about pressuring the accountability court and to delay the conviction but that’s not going to happen.”
PML-N mulls options ahead of Panamagate verdict
Rizvi says countrywide agitation in Sharif’s support best serves his motives which is unlikely due to lack of public support. “Mass mobilisation in show of his political power is the policy which has failed to work so far.”
The analyst believes the ruling camp is waiting for March to attain majority in Senate elections. “If that happens and PML-N goes to do legislation to corner state institutions like judiciary and security establishment, the consequences will be disastrous.”
One of Sharif’s trusted aides, Ameer Muqam, who is also the political adviser to incumbent Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, says the ex-premier is very much within his rights to raise a voice of dissent against the court judgment.
“Not that Mian Sahib [Sharif] has ever said he will defy the court orders. He has acted upon the court’s directives in letter and spirit. It took him no time to leave the office after the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Panamagate case was out. But do he and the people of Pakistan accept this verdict? No, and it’s our right, which no one can take,” says Muqam.
Sharif is becoming paranoid about 'untold conspiracies': Aitzaz
He puts forth a novel logic in the defence of his leader’s criticism of state institutions. “Has he ever specifically named any institution? If not, what is all this fuss about? PML-N’s entire vote bank is actually Sharif’s vote bank and the efforts to corner him will lead to nowhere. A leader of millions of people cannot be rendered irrelevant just like that.”
Regardless of the N-Leaguers’ publically-shared views, their unofficial opinions suggest otherwise. A party bigwig, requesting anonymity, says the feeling is deepening in the party that Sharif is battling it out for personal survival disregarding the repercussions of confrontational approach.
“There is confusion, chaos and complete disarray. Even loyalists have started thinking this is all about settling personal scores and not politics,” he says as party is locked in serious rifts amid echoing calls for Shehbaz Sharif to take over the party reins. “What other option does Mian Sahib have than to crib, cry and confront?”