Arrival

Against many expectations, and following a trial which has been termed controversial by legal experts, former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz returned to the country on Friday. The father and daughter made no effort to evade – either by prolonging their stay in London or through other means – what they knew would be certain arrest. Questions continue to be asked about whether it was necessary to arrest them from the plane itself, given that they were voluntarily coming back to the country rather than attempting to flee it.

Even more striking than the drama of the arrest itself were the extraordinary measures taken by the caretaker government to shut down Lahore and paralyse the city in what was seen as an attempt to ensure that crowds did not gather to receive Nawaz Sharif and Maryam at the airport. Containers blocked roads, entryways leading into Lahore were shut off and police deployed in vast numbers in many areas, creating handicaps for tens of thousands of people. Mobile phone networks were switched off for well over 12 hours in much of Lahore – despite an Islamabad High Court verdict earlier this year which forbids the federal government from doing so. It is difficult to understand why so much pandemonium needed to be created. Despite these efforts, independent stories and media reports from Lahore said that thousands had gathered behind former Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif to receive Nawaz. They were unable to reach the airport both because of the blockades and the sheer numbers of people involved. It does go to the credit of the PML-N that there was no violence beyond some minor skirmishes with police. While the PML-N protesters did show that the party retains strong support despite its legal and political woes, the caretaker government has come under fire even from neutral observers over what some have termed ‘unnecessarily over the top measures’.

For Nawaz, maryam and the PML-N, the most pressing question is about their immediate futures. Nawaz and Maryam were quickly detained and flown to Islamabad. They are now imprisoned in the notorious Adiala Jail and will have to keep fighting on the legal front to clear their names; their battle, though, is in equal parts political and legal. Both are likely to put in an appeal against the verdict in the Avenfield flats reference by Monday. Other cases will, rather surprisingly, be heard within the jail. The reason for this is also not quite clear given that neither Nawaz nor Maryam can be considered especially dangerous prisoners.

The imprisonment of the Sharifs comes less than two weeks before the general election. Quite obviously, it will affect the PML-N. While there has been talk of a split within the party, on Saturday Shahbaz Sharif held a press conference calling for a peaceful protest with PML-N workers wearing black armbands, and criticising the authorities for the way they handled Friday’s protests. As the Sharif family simultaneously plots its next legal and political moves, however, its future and that of its party is remains uncertain. Precisely how it may have been affected will become visible only when people vote. The actions in Lahore will do little to calm down trepidation and uncertainty about an election which is taking place amidst a terrible security situation, with scores dead already in the worst kind of violence the country has experienced. We must hope there is no further bloodshed and that the polls are fair and transparent as should be expected in every democracy.