It seems the government has realised, however late, that some of its more eager ministers went perhaps a little too far in making fun, so to speak, of Nawaz Sharif’s illness. Special Assistant to Prime Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, especially, could have avoided the usual crude jokes, alluding to the former prime minister’s diet, etc, as he was rushed to the hospital because of a dangerously low blood platelet count. Nobody’s cracking any jokes now as the Punjab health minister confirmed that Nawaz did, indeed, suffer a “minor heart attack” two days ago and he was suffering from a disease that causes internal bleeding and diminishes platelets.
And it was largely because of the government’s non-serious attitude that rumours quickly started doing the rounds; from talk of a deal to reports of an air ambulance, fuelled and ready at Lahore airport, waiting to take the ex-PM out of the country just so the government can escape the worst of the blame if something were to happen to Sharif. The manner in which Maryam Nawaz was first denied permission to see her father in hospital, then allowed only a brief visit, could also have been handled better. Eventually Prime Minister Imran Khan himself was forced to issue a statement wishing Nawaz a speedy recovery and allowing Maryam to meet him. But he’ll understand just why PML-N, especially Nawaz Sharif, is dismissing the apparent good-will as too little too late.
Needless to say that this particular episode came at an awkward time for the government; when all its attention was turned towards garrisoning the capital in anticipation of Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s imminent siege of Islamabad. Since PML-N is a big part of the agitation, that too on Nawaz Sharif’s personal insistence (even though Shahbaz was resistant), one can be sure that Nawaz’s deteriorating health and the government’s unimpressive way of dealing with it will come up, repeatedly, during the dharna.
Out on bail for the time being, should his health improve, Nawaz will once again cast a long shadow on the present phase of Pakistan’s politics. PTI’s case is not helped by the economic burden its policies have placed on the common man. With wages and jobs diminishing, prices constantly rising, and little chance of relief on the horizon, the job of a united opposition in terms of whipping up public sentiment against the government is made that much easier. Now there’ll be more meat, as they say, in additional allegations of political victimisation with Nawaz naturally paraded as the principal exhibit.
Even convicted and apparently out of the picture for a long time, Nawaz Sharif has managed to out maneuver the government in more ways than one. Surely those in power need a better understanding of dealing with political prisoners; regardless of the nature of their conviction. *