Daily Times

The undisputed leader of PML(N), Nawaz Sharif, better snap out of utopia as he heads back to Pakistan after a self-imposed exile of nearly four years. Although high public approval ratings and sweeping successes in elections, especially in the political heartland, of the yesteryears cannot be denied, a lot has changed in the country ever since he had left for the UK in the middle of his seven-year jail term.

Going by the recent clarification by Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Mr Sharif would have to face legal obstacles, the answers for which “lie in legal remedies.”

As things stand, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court on the controversial Practice & Procedure Act 2023 has already closed the doors to the right of appeal for the former prime minister.

Even if, through some mysterious miracle, manages to cross the airport and land at Jati Umra, his decision to file nomination papers for the upcoming elections would lead to an interesting conflict between the Act of Parliament and the SC ruling. While his younger brother seems confident about no harm being done as he sent out a praise-loaded message on the microblogging website, there’s no escaping the reality that Wednesday’s ruling does not benefit Mr Sharif’s case in any way.

That political uncertainty should not sustain for a minute longer than it has considering the stumbling blocks in the path of any and all policy responses to a myriad of crises cannot be stressed enough. No matter what position he may assume in the soon-to-be-formulated political equation, we are in no shape to stomach a few more rounds of musical chairs. The fights would have to stop and all leaders ready to sit together to perfect a line of action that can actually deliver on the ground.

Instead of fixating on the scale of reception he will receive in Lahore, Mr Sharif could still go down in history as a much-needed voice of reason if he manages to huddle together all stakeholders so that our dire circumstance can be turned into an opportunity for wide-ranging, deep and credible reform. *