Pakistan’s former PM Nawaz Sharif leaves after appearing in a court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 26, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
Three names have haunted Nawaz Sharif in his political career – Abdul Waheed Kakar, Pervez Musharraf and Qamar Javed Bajwa. All three former Army chiefs in Pakistan sent Mr. Sharif packing as Prime Minister on three different occasions, using three differing routes.
And, now, after remaining in “medical exile” since 2019, the former Prime Minister is back again in Pakistan in what will be his fourth attempt to take power. This time he has a new Chief of the Army Staff to tango with – Asim Munir.
Mr. Sharif’s VIP-style arrival and instant bail from the courts in a host of cases goes to show that the Army establishment, after ensuring the ouster of Imran Khan as Prime Minister earlier this year, believes that the PML-N leader is the horse to back in the forthcoming elections.
After landing in Pakistan on October 21, and addressing a well-attended rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan, Mr. Sharif’s political fortunes will be closely watched. For better or for worse, he is the crowd puller for the PML-N – younger brother and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has little of the charisma his older brother possesses.
As a country, Pakistan is ravaged by rampant inflation, an ever-weakening rupee, sky-rocketing fuel and gas prices, commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an absolute inability to expand the tax base in the country.
It’s likely that one of the “conditions” imposed by Mr. Sharif to return to Pakistan is that his political rival Imran Khan be jailed and prosecuted. After all, it was Mr. Khan, who, in cahoots with then Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and a pliant Supreme Court, ensured the conviction and disqualification of Mr. Sharif in 2017.
It was a subdued Nawaz Sharif who addressed his supporters at the Minar-i-Pakistan, stating up front that he would not be seeking revenge against those who plotted his ouster through the courts in 2017. In the past, speaking from London, Mr. Sharif fired a salvo at Gen. Bajwa and then ISI chief Faiz Hamid, seeking action against them for their role in his ouster.
The Dawn newspaper also quoted him as saying: “Pakistan’s constitutional institutions, political parties and all the stakeholders need to work together to deal with the challenges that we are facing today.”
In Pakistan, civilian Prime Ministers have had a long history of being consumed by the Generals they appointed as Army chiefs. Though constitutionally the civilian set-up has been strengthened, the reality is that the permanent establishment of Pakistan can use the courts or even Parliament to send a Prime Minister home.
Perhaps the longest [and publicly happiest marriage] was the recent one between Gen. Bajwa and Imran Khan till it ended in a bitter divorce and loss of office for Mr. Khan. They publicly differed on the choice of an ISI chief, known to be the second most powerful office in Pakistan.
Mr. Khan then went on to launch a most fierce public tirade not just against the Army chief but the Army as an institution – an attack that the khaki-clad could not stomach from the laadla (darling) they had themselves spawned.
In 1998, Gen. Jehangir Karamat chose to resign as Army chief after publicly, but politely, pointing to the many dangers that Pakistan faced. Mr. Nawaz Sharif could not stomach the criticism and Gen. Karamat chose to quit office. His successor Pervez Musharraf would oust Mr. Sharif in a coup the following year.
This context is important as Nawaz Sharif is not known for his restraint when it comes to dealing with other institutions in Pakistan, including the Army. If he is to have a fourth chance at becoming Prime Minister, then Mr. Sharif will have to learn to live within the confines of a rocky marriage with Gen. Asim Munir, the most powerful man in the country.
