Adil Najam
Former Prime Minister and PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif is back in Pakistan.
Reportedly he landed in Lahore to a large reception by his supporters and was escorted to a special bullet proof car that had been brought for him. According to The News:
A special plane carrying the PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz Sharif and other family members arrived in Lahore from the holy city of Madina on Sunday evening. The convoys of PML-N workers arrived in Lahore to accord rousing welcome to Sharifs. Large welcome banners and pictures of Sharif brothers have been displayed at several places in Lahore. The special plane Boeing777 carried Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif along with 26 members of their family from the holy city of Madina.
The central and provincial leaders of PML-N, lawyers and members of civil society have arrived to receive Sharifs at Lahore Airport. Nawaz Sharif is expected to first visit Data Darbar in a procession and address a public meeting. Security had been tightened in Lahore especially on the airport ahead of arrival of the PML-N leader. Provincial home department has allowed only hundred party leaders to receive Sharifs at the airport, party sources claimed.
According to sources, bullet-proof cars for Sharifs reached in Lahore last night from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the home department said that the authorities have decided to give free hand to Nawaz Sharif but he has not been permitted for holding a public meeting and rally.
Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and other family members will be transported to home from the airport, a home department statement said. However, thousands of PML-N workers succeeded in arriving airport by crossing the barricades put up by police. On this occasion, the workers raised slogans both in favour of Nawaz Sharif and against the government.
Readers would remember from our prior posts that in August the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ruled that he could, in fact, return to Pakistan despite whatever ‘deal’ he had made with Gen. Musharraf at teh time of his original flight to Saudi Arabia. However, when he did return to the country in September, he was unceremoniously and dramatically deported back to Saudi Arabia with theatrics which rivaled his own attempts not to let Gen. Musharraf land in Pakistan many moons ago.
Now it turns out that he has made yet another ‘deal’ with Gen. Musharraf which has enabled his return.
It is not fully clear what the ‘terms’ of this deal are. Nor what the Musharraf-Nawaz Sharif deal mean
s for the earlier Musharraf-Benazir deal that had enabled her return some weeks back. Nor, in fact, is it clear what what his return (and the fact that now both Benazir and Nawaz Sharif are back in Pakistan) will mean for the future of Pakistan’s politics and the (supposed) forthcoming elections.
In despair, one even wonders if it means anything at all? Or is this just one more drama in the string of topi dramas that have come to define our distraught and fractured polity?
I think sometime in the future both JI and PTI would merge into the PML(N). It could take another ten years or so, I don’t know, but that seems to me the fate of these parties.
Justice Munir in his report regarding 1953 riots wrote that this nation has extremely “short” memory, whenever i see people supporting BB or NS, i have this revolting feeling, everybody agrees that they have looted pakistan instead of doing any good, still people say, give them another chance, i mean this nation will give someone another chance to rule themselves and make them suffer “once more”, WoW
Musharraf is a very strong man but still he has to bow his head before his two masters. When they make him an offer, he can not refuse. BB and NS do not have to make any direct deal with Musharraf. The return of BB was arranged by US with a promise of BB to participate in the general elections. Saudi Arabia (SA) has been trying to convince Mush to let NS be back to Pakistan. This news was already published in Newsweek (Nov. 5, 2007). During his recent visit Mush received the necessary instructions and blessings from Saudi King.
Now the stage is all set. The drama of election will take place. BB and NS will actively participate in the election in which the winner will be Musharraf. It is as simple as that.
This shows the interference of foreign govenmrnts into pakistan affairs…..BB returned due tom US and GB and nawazreturnes due to SA request. Now plitical party leaders in pakistan needs to build personal relations with goras and sheiks to rescue them in the time of need…even the iron man like mush can succum to the pressure of sheikhs…
now keep ur fingres crossed of what both BB and Nawaz will do in future….God bless Pakistan.
@Imran,
You may be grossly underestimating PPP support in urban Punjab. There is no way NS can sweep the vote in Punjab; in fact the N and Q league vote split might get more PPP MNAs elected than would be possible otherwise.
In fact unless JI and PMLN make seat adjustments, the conservative vote could be even more split in Punjab, don’t you think?