It must be a relief to PML(N) insiders that the return of party supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif played out according to plan, even though that plan was more complicated than a simple arrival would have between, because Mr Sharif had to stop over in Islamabad to complete certain legal at a solution for the problems of the coformalities, a reminder to him, his friends, and the whole nation watching on, that he was out on bail. That his status as a convict undergoing imprisonment did not cause any hiccups is a tribute to the skills of his legal team, but more importantly, to the readiness of those who facilitated his return as well as his exile.
Mr Sharif’s return in such good order showed once again how there is never anything final in politics, and how fortunes can be turned around. If nothing else, whatever the results of the coming election, Mr Sharif is proof that no one can ever be written off. It is a useful lesson for PTI chief Mr Imran Khan, who is currently on trial in the cipher case, in jail, convicted in another case, and about to face cases related to the May 9 attacks. It was perhaps a tribute to Mian Nawaz’s political sagacity that he did not use the opportunity to pitch in to Mr Khan, though his speech at Minar-i-Pakistan did make a very pointed comparison between Mr Khan’s government and his own. This refusal to target his main electoral opponent will help restore some of the dignity in political discourse lost to the name calling of the recent past when Mr Khan’s party went for its opponents bald-headed.
Perhaps Mr Sharif’s critics will pick on his lack of specifics on how he plans to tackle the country’s biggest problem, the economy. Though his return is supposed to be because the powers that be want him to resume the prime ministership, there is potential for a clash there, because there might be a difference of views in how the economy is to be managed. It is all the more necessary for him to present a coherent plan of action, because if the party did not do present one it might not have as much success at the hustings as it hopes. The nation is no longer willing to be swept off its feet by any hybrid conman. Mr Sharif must have more than the private agenda of attaining a fourth prime ministership; he must have a better solution to the country’s problems than represented by Senator Ishaq Dar, whose closeness to Mr Sharif was so noticeable.
