Shehbaz more pragmatic than his brother

PML-N president reshapes party’s stance

ISLAMABAD:

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, along with his like-minded leaders, has not only reshaped the party's anti-establishment narrative, but boldly set aside the conventional belief that public perception held paramount significance in winning the elections.

Known for his persistency, the PML-N president has finally managed to turn his party’s guns away from the military’s retired top brass, especially former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-spymaster Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, as the PML-N recently decided to drop its anti-establishment stance -- just days after beginning that journey.

The party, which ensured that then army chief Gen Bajwa received an extension in service, had since been speaking out against the judges and generals, who it believed were responsible for bringing the PTI into power.

However, the PML-N has lately decided to refrain from criticising them as it has adopted a new narrative that the party supremo, former premier Nawaz Sharif, had left everything to the Almighty— as if it had the option not to do so.

“The establishment is permanent; the establishment isn’t just the names of the officers, particularly the retired [ones],” said political analyst Zaigham Khan. “Keeping the selected retired military officials at gunpoint doesn’t make one anti-establishment,” he added.

The political expert said Nawaz was trying to build a “so-called” anti-establishment narrative against some retired military officials, including Bajwa and Faiz.

Read Nawaz not to ‘adopt anti-establishment stance’

“They [Bajwa and Faiz] are not the establishment; they are just retired military officials. They were part of the establishment when they were serving but no more,” he continued.

The political expert said the PML-N had not just backed off from that narrative but its contradictions were glaring as well.

Elaborating further, Zaigham observed that the PML-N legislated to give an extension to Gen Bajwa after accusing him for its woes. He added that the move had opened the door for extension for all the future army chiefs as well.

“The PML-N could have been given some marks for being anti-establishment if it had taken a stance against the current one. However, those marks are currently being given to the PTI,” the political expert noted.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob differed with Zaigham by saying that the PML-N did have a potent anti-establishment narrative. “Not only a narrative, but Nawaz Sharif is the only premier, who repeatedly (thrice) tried to assert his authority as the prime minister granted to him by the Constitution and each time he paid a price,” he added.

However, Mehboob observed that Nawaz operated on the basis of the conditions as they should be but Shehbaz managed matters based on ground realities. “In the context of Pakistan, it is difficult to say whose approach is right between the two [brothers],” he continued.

During background discussions, a PML-N leader, requesting not to be named, said from PML-N’s anti-establishment narrative starting from Gujranwala rally in 2020 to becoming the country’s prime minister in 2022 and from granting the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) the status of a Special Vetting Agency (SVA) to ratifying the army’s role in national development, it was Shehbaz who never had any confusion where he wanted to take his party.

“His [Shehbaz’s] narrative has finally prevailed,” the party leader added.

The PML-N leader said it now appeared that the "anti-Bajwa and Faiz" narrative was nothing but a "hoax" as it was used repeatedly to sway public opinion in the party's favour -- firstly, because the then premier Imran Khan’s government was smoothly sailing on the same page with the powerful circles and secondly, when the PTI chief adopted an anti-establishment stance and buried his rival's “sanctity of vote “slogan with it.

However, he added, Imran had his own weaknesses as he would speak against the establishment during the day but beg them to stand by his side at night -- a fact revealed by none other than the current ISI DG, Lt-Gen Nadeem Anjum, during his maiden press conference almost a year ago.

Just a few days ago, Nawaz singled out former army chief and top spymaster as the “enemies of Pakistan” but now decided to look the other way instead of demanding justice against the alleged conspirators of his ouster in 2017 as apparently his party, especially Shehbaz, did want any confrontation with the powers that be.

Even during his time in the PM Office, Shehbaz replaced the IB with the ISI as he had granted SVA status to the spy agency, empowering it to complete the verification and screening of all government officers for inductions, important postings, appointments and promotions in June 2022.

In July 2023, the Shehbaz-led government gave vast powers to the military beyond its original mandate through a series of amendments to the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, legitimising the GHQ’s role in carrying out activities otherwise considered the prerogative of the civilian authorities.

Apart from increasing the army’s mandate, the bill moved by then Defence Minister Khawaja Asif provided legal cover to the military’s unbridled activities in the economic domain under the ‘welfare through affiliated entities’ clause.

The PML-N-led government not just enhanced army’s role but retrospectively gave legal cover to it and its affiliated entities in their past activities.

Besides, Shehbaz’s coalition government also earned the reputation of turning the highest legislative forum as a “rubberstamp parliament” as dozens of bills were passed without even reading or debating on them during the last few days of previous government.

Among them was a bill – now a law – through which the federal government established a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) -- a hybrid civil-military forum, which the government set up to actualise the Economic Revival Plan, claimed to be a bigger financial project than the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Initially, the SIFC was thought to be a forum to attract investment from abroad but it reportedly has now been given mandate to decide domestic economic issues as well.

It is also no secret that the PML-N leadership did not utter a single word during its 16-month rule but suddenly woke up from slumber to demand accountability of the former judges and generals.

However, Shehbaz seems to have the PML-N tuck in bed again and so far has the last laugh as the party will now be focusing on the country's  economic revival.