- And the PML-N leaders’ sexist remarks
With the day of judgment drawing near, Nawaz Sharif is becoming increasingly bitter. What adds to his fury is that his attacks on the Supreme Court have drawn no strong response which he could present as an evidence of malice and grudge on the part of the judges. In a state of desperation, he has now gone a step further by accusing the CJ by name as one of the detractors who have been all along stopping him from putting the country back on an even keel. Sharif also believes he must indulge in bluster to keep up the morale of his supporters, telling them that as he remains undaunted they too should.
Keeping in view the speeches delivered by Sharif and Maryam in Sahiwal, it appears that the aggressive style would chacterise the series of PML-N rallies in major towns of Punjab scheduled for this month.
To stop any demoralisation among the PML-N workers and candidates after Imran Khan’s show of force in Lahore, considered PML-N’s stronghold, Sharif has tried to belittle the significance of the rally. He has described it as a crowd brought from Peshawar which is only partly true as aspirants for PTI’s tickets from all over Punjab had also worked hard to make the rally a success. Nawaz is also cognizant of the dissatisfaction in Punjab over unfulfilled expectations. This has led him to claim that the PML-N could have turned the country into a ‘new Pakistan’ if it was given 10 to 20 years, a defence put up for incompetence by every ruling party whenever its tenure nears an end. Responding to PPP’s criticism of the PML-N’s performance, Nawaz held Zardari equally responsible for the problems the country faces.
The morbid way some of the PML-N leaders have responded to the PTI’s Lahore rally indicates that they are losing the sense of propriety. The comments about PTI women participating in the rally by leaders like Rana Sanaulah and Talal Chaudhry and about PTI’s chief whip Shireen Mazari by Abid Sher Ali were highly objectionable and Sharif needs to discourage the trend before it degenerates into a free for all tit-for-tat.
