Nawaz operates from peripheries

LAHORE:

PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, once expected to reclaim the political reins upon his much-hyped return before the general elections, remains conspicuously on the periphery.

Despite a full-fledged PML-N government at the helm, Nawaz has opted to stay behind the curtain, largely ignoring burning national issues, including Balochistan.

Three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan in 2023 after a five-year self-imposed exile in London, widely seen as a calculated bid to sidestep jail, has since kept a low profile, steering clear of the political limelight despite his party forming the government.

Many view this retreat as part of the PML-N's quiet pact with the establishment, a bid to regain the reins of power without rocking the boat.

However, within party ranks, there is growing unease that Nawaz's prolonged absence from the helm, despite being regarded as the ideological glue holding the PML-N's base together, could prove costly if the political playing field were ever truly levelled.

Once the party's undisputed lodestar, Nawaz has now receded into the background to the point where he lacks even a designated spokesperson, morphing into one of the most elusive figures for the local media.

According to media reports, Nawaz was expected to return to Pakistan this Thursday. But when The Express Tribune reached out to two party leaders, neither had any clue about his travel itinerary.

The party's usual fallback – branding Nawaz as the "guiding force" behind central decisions – has begun to wear thin. It even backfired recently when Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari credited Nawaz with "overseeing war planning and execution," prompting ridicule and turning him into the butt of jokes.

Interestingly, Nawaz has not spoken to the local media since returning to Pakistan. However, during his frequent trips to London, he appears more at ease, engaging freely with journalists based there.

A senior party leader from Punjab told The Express Tribune that the PML-N was increasingly ceding political space to the establishment, an approach he warned would have severe consequences in the future. "Now we may enjoy riding the establishment's coattails, but tomorrow, when the command changes, we will feel the heat of our blunders," he said.

The leader stressed that Nawaz Sharif must re-enter the political fray to keep the party alive. "At this stage, the PML-N is stuck between two administrators, Maryam and Nawaz. Both lack political maturity. Everyone in the party knows their actual worth."

"We shudder to think of the day the establishment ditches us. We don't have a workable narrative to reach out to the people of Punjab."