October 21st marked the end of an avidly-awaited return of the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who ostensibly had been scrapped from the politics for the second time. Nawaz Sharif who returned home from London after 4 years, of what has to be his self-exile (for the panacea of his ailment), has been welcomed back with a bated breath from his stalwart supporters and party members in Minar-e-Pakistan, after weeks of arrangements to aggrandize a welcome for PMLN’s supremo.
By the looks of the things, Nawaz Sharif’s return seems more to be what meets the eyes. Putatively, he was given the prerogative from the court for medical treatment in abroad under the pledge of returning to home to serve his sentence. Thus, granting him no exemption from his punishment, but it didn’t occur to be the case. His return now seems to be part of an even greater political game, for the resurrection of PMLN’s fate in politics. From where Nawaz Sharif’s blink political future has found a light at the end of a dark tunnel, the argument seems to hold water that the establishment has a skin in this game, as he was granted a protective bail from the court even before his landing in Pakistan.
“Despite having loggerheads with the establishment of its unconstitutional role in this country’s politics, the PMLN’s leader still has embraced the establishment’s laurels with open-hands, even this time.”
Though, Nawaz Sharif has a riveting history with the military establishment, the past doesn’t seem to be an agonizing lesson for him. Despite having loggerheads with the establishment of its unconstitutional role in this country’s politics, the PMLN’s leader still has embraced the establishment’s laurels with open-hands, even this time. The party agenda gives the indication that the course outline being formulated has the shades of reconciliation with the establishment, as the London meetings held by the younger brother proved conducive for the elder brother to concur, to bury his hatchet against the military establishment, so that his politics could be enlivened back in Pakistan.
Foreseeably, the harbingers of good books of power could be seen back in Nawaz Sharif’s speech on his return at Minar-e-Pakistan, as the past rivalry seems to be redeemed with friendship. The military leadership yearning to undone Imran Khan’s political legacy, finds no better option than a former prime minister, who has tasted the venom of this cooked recipe before, to ravel its peccadillos. Ergo, an old, establishments’ nemesis has once again turned into their trusted ally. A speech bereft of anti-establishment narrative has substantiated Nawaz Sharif’s standing as establishment’s blue-eyed person for the impending elections. But the shifting sands of Pakistan’s politics has iterated these scripts already. The election win could bring his politics back to heyday, but his path is the same byway that has led to the nosediving of all politicians. But such is the nature of the politics in this country, i.e., the democracy doesn’t hold you power, but the establishment actually does, as the military reigns supreme. Hence, a three-time former prime minister is back to following the same footsteps, the prints of which marked his ouster back in his reigning days.
The former prime minister now holds the key for his party to mitigate its tanning popularity and concomitantly, the bigwig leader has to counter the menace of Imran Khan as well, provided this onerous task has been undertook from a while by the caretaker government, under the aegis of military establishment. Perhaps, Nawaz Sharif’s return could be the resuscitation of PMLN’s political destiny & so do for the establishment’s plan for the extermination of project IK. But his return holds nothing to set this country’s already succumbing democracy to rights.
There’s still a long shot for the premise of Nawaz Sharif’s fourth term as a prime minister, the gargantuan impediment of which would be to annul his legal cases. Not only this, the former prime minister has to exalt his party stature as well. But with the establishment’s backing, this doesn’t appear to be a herculean task, the corroboration of which could be seen in the political happenings. The crackdown on PTI, the paucity of level-playing field for other parties hints the scenario for the incoming elections. Though, there’s a least plausibility, but one could hope a free and fair elections to dictate the fate of this country’s democracy and the people, for whom this power politics has cordoned off the development of the country.
