Maryam, Shah in the saddle

With Maryam Nawaz clinching her debut office, and Murad Ali Shah being elected for a third-term as chief minister of Punjab and Sindh, respectively, the provincial electoral exercise has come full circle. Maryam’s incumbency, however, has come with a stigma of ballot irregularities, and the controversy of post-poll counting of votes will continue to dwarf her. More to it are the highhanded tactics of the local administration that denied access to many of the PTI-backed Independent MPAs-elect, and the undesired writ that Speaker exercised in not allowing them to speak on the floor of the house. This has kick-started a chorus of pandemonium, and a boycott, from MPAs in Punjab in contrast with the smooth sailing in Sindh for Shah as the minion opposition is decimated to footnotes.

Maryam, nonetheless, gave a gracious start to her inning as she vowed not to resort to political vendetta, and extended an olive branch to the opposition. She, as her father, the former three-term prime minister, tried to enthrall her audience by promising out of the box development in the province, and assured that women empowerment will enjoy a special edge on her priorities. But in playing to the gallery she has come up with some tall claims, saying there would be zero-tolerance for police high-handedness, harassment of women being a red-line and doling out free medicines for all, coupled with subsidised relief packages to overcome inflation.

With Punjab in the last few months turning into a hotbed of revenge politics, Maryam will have to walk the talk to make the difference felt. Ushering in serenity and lifting the lid of discrimination is a must to make a fresh start. Similarly, a plummeted economy and a deficit-ridden exchequer will come as a challenge to handle. Likewise, the evolving protests in Sindh by GDA, the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami will for the first time test Shah’s nerves too. While his previous two stints were more or less marred by political tussles of connivance, this time around it is issues-driven locking of horns.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2024.

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