- A one-time affair or a new approach?
At the Sangla Hill rally Nawaz Sharif and Maryam turned their guns at the PTI and PPP calling both parties two sides of the same coin. The PPP was reminded of the Contecna affair, Rental Power, EOBI and Haj scams. Both were lambasted for being puppets and chess pieces. What would have come as a surprise to many was that judiciary baiting which had so far been the burden of their harangues at every public meeting got a respite this time. Another surprise was the presence of Hamza Sharif on the stage at a rally addressed by the former PM and his daughter. Was there a connection between the two surprising developments?
Ever since Nawaz took to the GT Road after being disqualified by the Supreme Court, rejecting the suggestions to proceed to Lahore via the Motorway the PML-N has been divided into two factions, those who advocated a non-confrontationist stance and those wanted the former PM to take on the security establishment and the judiciary. With both Nawaz and Maryam facing references and there being no guarantee that they would get a clean chit, the hardliners had to agree on Shahbaz replacing elder brother as PML-N chief. In the first public meeting addressed by the Punjab CM after assuming the new charge he declared that all institutions are to be accorded due respect and appealed to the judiciary, army and parliament to jointly work to meet the challenges facing the country.
This left little maneuvering space for the former PM. So far the courts, and the security establishment, the latter mainly through innuendoes, were his main targets. It was maintained that they were out to sentence him despite there being no incriminating evidence against him. Nawaz Sharif who badly needs to explain to his constituency why he has been removed and why there are references in the courts must find other ‘evil forces’ responsible for his plight. The PPP and PTI fit to size. The new policy will ensure the continuation of the present tenure of the party. With the accountability court likely to deliver a judgment soon one is not sure how long the new policy will continue.