The Nawaz question

The question of how to deal with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s prolonged stay in London has obviously become a dilemma for the PTI government. The government has now written to British authorities seeking the extradition of Nawaz Sharif on the grounds that he has exceeded the eight-week bail period granted to him by the court to seek treatment for a medical ailment. The actions since then by Nawaz Sharif and his family have raised some questions. The Punjab government and its health authorities claim that no reports detailing tests or treatments undergone in the UK by Mian Nawaz Sharif have been sent in. It is however unlikely that an effort to have Nawaz deported will work, no matter how many letters are written, given that Pakistan has no extradition treaty with the UK. This has also been determined by the case of former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The absence of the Sharifs, who have for decades stood at the centre of PML-N party politics, is also potentially damaging the second largest party in Parliament itself. It seems to have begun an effort to reassert itself as a political force in the country with a team of senior leaders led by ex-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who till recently was in jail himself, visiting Karachi to interact with other parties including the various factions of the PTI as well as the MQM’s Farooq Sattar. The PML-N is also keen that its leadership, which includes Ahsan Iqbal and Maryam Aurangzeb, ensure that the splintering of its own party in Karachi be patched over before the cracks grow into larger and potentially more dangerous chasms.

It is important that the PML-N haul itself back onto the political platform now that at least some of its leaders have been released from jail. The party cannot play the card of being a victim forever. There is a need to clear up the allegations that a deal of some kind, essentially involving the possible exit of Maryam Nawaz, has been made, and also to explain to ordinary people the state of Nawaz Sharif’s health. We need stronger, clearer statements on this. We also need to know why Shahbaz Sharif, who is the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and has important duties, is not returning to the country. He has to do so if the PML-N is to retain its credibility and to maintain its position as a major political force in the country and especially in Punjab.