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?
@RE
“Pakistani people you keep your eyes and ears open. Enemy is among us. here right here”.
Exactly! I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Found a very good BBC review of general’s 8 years here
http://tinyurl.com/2ul565
pejamistri:
Some harsh remarks against NS. But what I have been thinking about is what if NS boycotts the elections and Musharraf remains the President? In that case PPP would win the majority seats in the Parliament and would be in a position to form the government, which would surely acquicise. In that case PML(Q) would become the opposition and Musharraf’s situation would become even more precarious and might have to leave in that case too.
My feeling is that there will be a major change before 8th of January, and perhaps both NS and BB will contest the election.
If NS really bycotts the election then there won’t be any election. If he had to bycott the election and give BB a walkover he would have stayed back in KSA or London and asked her party to bycott the elections.
Big question is what sort of election we are going to have? Is it going to be under Mush’s regime or under a new set up? IMHO it is a 50-50 chance. It could be without Mush as president and COAS , if so all the parties are going to contest the election.
On the other hand if Mush remains as president , and NS bycotts the election then I don’t think there will be any election, Mush will have to go in that case.
The third option is NS takes part in election under Mush. NS will in that case be a bigger looser than Mush.
I truly wonder if NS would boycott the elections or contest as BB?