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?
Viqar Minai:
What in your view is a better way to restore the constitution: Boycott or participation? From what I get from your contention above is that you favor parties going into elections and contesting them, which I also think is more suitable. Boycott would only marginalize the parties going for it. So I think IK’s political career is in grave danger now.
@Shahid:
I suspect that Musharraf will lift the emergency in the coming days, but leave the PCO intact. He may be counting on the fact that, in a couple of weeks from now, the parties will have to concentrate all their energies on serious electioneering and might not be in a position to make a big ruckus over the PCO issue. He may be proved right in this assumption.
The future parliament, however, is not without options even if the PCO is still in place when power has to be transferred. What they must absolutely not do, though, is to take oath under the PCO. I am certain that, by that time, there will be insurmountable public as well as international pressure on Musharraf to restore the constituion. Not being the COAS any longer, he won’t be in a position to take the country to the brink yet again; he will be forced to back down.
The new parliament, if all political parties work together on the constitutional issues, can repeal the changes made to the constitution after 1999.
Musharraf will eventually end up becoming a figurehead President. I very much doubt that he would enjoy being a lameduck and expect him to step down, of his own volition, within the next 1-2 years.
Asad:
But tell us what happens if NS doesn’t contest the elections?
pejamistri I agree if Nawaz contests the election with Musharaf as President he will lose whatever goodwill he has created for himself.
GO Musharaf GO.
@Pejamistri:
I am very hopeful that both BB and NS will contest elections; and they should. Someone said in an earlier post that the Saudis pressed for NS return at the behest of USA. I disagree; I think that KSA has an independent stake in having a govt that is at least as friendly to KSA’s interests as it is to the West. Thus, insisting and getting NS back was very much their own interest; and they clearly did not let him go back to Pak so he will sit on the sidelines and leave the field open for PPP and the Q-League.
Incidentally, as NS was sounding serious about boycotting elections in his public statement yesterday, I was looking at Shahbaz’s face who was sitting right next to him. He looked glum and disinterested. I strongly suspect that he is not at all in favor of boycotting the coming elections.