Or merely a relationship of give and take?
In his recent public meeting at Abbotabad Nawaz Sharif labelled himself as a politician with an ideology. Not much clarity has been provided by the ex-prime minister as to what that actually means. The Abbotabad speech revolved around major infrastructure development projects and the ‘judicial injustice’ done to him. The issues provide little clue about his ‘ideology’ which is increasingly becoming a refrain in his public addresses.
A more plausible conclusion that can be drawn is that Nawaz himself is unsure what the ideology he so passionately refers to actually is. Addressing a rally in Quetta yesterday as the ‘chief guest’ of sorts at the 44th death anniversary of Pakhtun ideologue and nationalist leader Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai Nawaz claimed that the PkMAP and the PML-N shared an ideological bond.
What ideological similarities exist between the ultra-nationalist Pashtun PkMAP and the right of center Punjabi PML-N is difficult to point out. In reality it is more of a mutually beneficial tactical alliance between two parties. It is like calling “you scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours” an ideology. PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s brother being the governor of Baluchistan since 2013, Sharif in return hopes for a helping hand from the party.
How a party that believes the Pak-Afghan border is unnecessary and should be done away with can have ideological affinity with PML-N is something only Nawaz can explain. Other doozies by the PkMAP includes the suggestion/demand that all Pashtuns from Afghanistan, on account of their ethnicity, should be allowed to enter and live in Pashtun majority areas of Pakistan without the proper documentation.
Nawaz has also conveniently chosen to ignore the PkMAP’s views on ‘Punjabi imperialism’. Even a nationalist party like the ANP has not tread the same ground as PkMAP in terms of Punjab-bashing.
That he had to rely on PkMAP to hold a public meeting in Quetta indicates that PML-N does not exist among the masses in the province. By insisting on ideological affinity with the Pushtun nationalist party, Sharif has exposed the ideological bankruptcy of his own party.
