Daily Times

Mian Nawaz Sharif has been disqualified by the Supreme Court. He has lost his position in the government and the parliament. An interim Prime Minister has been elected by the house with overwhelming majority. Political pundits who had predicted that the rats would be the first to jump a sinking ship and abandon the ruling party have been proved wrong. For now, PML-N has managed to hold on to its members in the parliament.

The challenges for PML-N after this great debacle are numerous and the party has to take concrete steps to redeem itself otherwise it may become doomed to be abandoned to the trashcan of posterity.

The first challenge and a slap on the face of the current members of the parliament is that the outgoing Prime Minister could not find a single reliable and trustworthy successor to replace him other than his own brother, who is not even a member of the National Assembly and has to contest a by-election to become eligible to assume the mantle of the premier. It is Nawaz Sharif’s failure that he did not groom an able successor and is trying to retain the party leadership in the family. Perhaps PML-N should either drop the suffix “N” or change it from “Nawaz” to “National”.

The second challenge is the Sword of Damocles of various corruption charges which PML-N leaders including the new incumbent in the seat of PM and Mian Shehbaz Sharif are likely to face, which if proved, may unseat them from the parliament and result in their incarceration. Mian Nawaz Sharif has announced that his party, PML-N would challenge Pakistan Supreme Court’s judgment by filing a review petition. That is his right since he is the aggrieved party. But Mr Sharif also told a meeting of party legislators that his disqualification by the court was not due to corruption. He may not be able to hold the moral high ground for long if the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) brings the cases of corruption filed against him to their logical conclusion.

PML-N has to gear itself for the general elections scheduled for 2018. We have to wait for the NAB investigations to reach a final conclusion, which may leave the party besmirched in charges of corruption, sleaze and money laundering. The party can no longer hide behind the cloak of political martyrdom. It will have to deliver in the remaining ten months till the next polls and prove to voters that it deserves a second chance.

The interim prime minister has to exude confidence in the masses that he is worthy of their trust. His first address to the Parliament after his election was rather mundane. He did not emanate statesmanship or the qualities expected from a national leader to steer the ship of governance through the choppy waters ahead.

PML-N should not be vindictive of the judiciary or members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which brought out the plethora of evidence against their fallen leader and his progeny. Social media is being used to slander Pakistan Army and demand vengeance for the fallen leader of PML-N. General Qamar Javed Bajwa was handpicked by Mian Nawaz Sharif to lead the army. He has sworn allegiance to uphold the constitution of Pakistan defend the territorial frontiers from external and internal threats and not blindly support Mian Nawaz Sharif. Sullying the good name of the army will only confuse the nation and erode the trust in the khakis, who are sacrificing their lives to keep Pakistan safe. The war on terror has taken a huge toll of lives of both the army and civilians. Guide the army, do not denigrate it and let it continue to combat terrorism with full concentration.

The outgoing Prime Minister could not find a single reliable and trustworthy successor to replace him other than his own brother — who is not even a member of the National Assembly and has to contest a by-election to become eligible to assume the mantle of the premiership

A major challenge will be to ensure the continuation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The disqualification of Mian Nawaz Sharif has left the stakeholders in the mega project China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) wondering what the impact of the ouster of Pakistan’s PM on CPEC will be. Will it suffer impediments; get derailed or continue at the same pace?

The positive aspect is that Beijing termed Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification from public office as an ‘internal affair of Pakistan’, and said that it will not impact China-Pakistan cooperative partnership involving ‘One Belt, One Road (OBOR)’ initiative, that includes China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as its ‘flagship’ project. The onus lies on the new PM to reassure the Chinese that Pakistan remains fully committed to the scheduled fruition of all CPEC projects and China’s trust in the government and its investment to enhance the quality of life of average Pakistanis is not misplaced.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2017.