Words stung by mockery to target someone’s health are cruel and used to wound me. During the period of prolonged illness of the Late Kulsoom Nawaz, I was in London and compellingly following the daily stories to learn the updates on her health. Kulsoom was a woman I have never met, but she’s someone I greatly admire.
Kulsoom Nawaz’s health declined rapidly after her initial diagnosis of lymphoma in June 2017. She struggled in and out of consciousness during her clinical care and was eventually placed on a ventilator. Long-term illness, even in the most stable and supportive families, brings changes. It produces disequilibrium in the family structure and attitudes until pain is buried.
The former first lady was in a state of unconsciousness when her husband and daughter were convicted on Avenfield reference.
In a stroke of awful timing, Maryam could not share the last moments with her mother when she was in critical care because of her imprisonment. She didn’t get a chance to mourn the loss of her mother either whilst many of us ran out of compassion and respect for the family.
Mariam is a leading figure committed to social change, which can drive the dreams of millions of people needing medical treatment, education, and decent means of livelihood.
Let me refresh your memory of a morally reprehensible drama where politicians TV anchors and celebrities played a role to mock the sickness of Kulsoom Nawaz to provide political ammunition to PTI and its cheerleaders in Pakistan and beyond. Some pronounced it a political stunt orchestrated to attain the sympathies of the people of Pakistan.
This suggests something has been seriously wrong with our attitude. What is beyond debate is the impact which left the entire Sharif family heartbroken in teary outbursts.
It was raining with thunderstorms in the evening when my mobile chimed with a text message from my friend who was planning to hold the prayer service for the departed soul of Kalsoom Nawaz in his Church upon the request of Khalil Tahir Sandhu, a Christian MPA from Punjab. However, the news of the death of Kulsoom Nawaz filled me with grief.
I didn’t know much about Mr Sandhu, but I was certainly moved by his appeal to the UK Churches to pray for his leader’s wife and his family in such a grim time.
It reminded me that it wasn’t only Pakistan who mourned but also Christians across the UK who mourned the death of Kulsoom Nawaz.
What struck me truly upon learning about Khalil’s true statesmanship was that he never ceased to maintain valour and commitment to his party even in the most challenging times. He faced hardships during the rule of the King of Chaos, Imran Khan, but he became the stringent voice to campaign against the political victimisation of PML (N) leadership internationally.
We are in a crisis of moral extinction; how can you forget Nawaz Sharif was initially granted 12 hours of parole to attend the funeral of his wife? His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif travelled to London on 12 September 2018 to bring back the body of his sister-in-law.
Let me ease your pain, these are the branded features of the political hellscape of Pakistan, but facts will find a way to survive. However, the benefits of tolerance and respect are appreciated widely enough to breed a kind of herd immunity against the politics of division and hate.
Mother lying on a hospital bed in ICU, father declining health, a list of tempered court cases, challenges to lead her political party, gossip of mother’s sickness galvanised by an undisciplined and unregulated digital media Maryam went through an epic tale of trauma and transformation.
As a mother, daughter, and sister, she showed us great charisma not only to reunite her family but aspired to reunite the nation.
Sometimes, I wonder where Maryam found her strength; then I realised it comes from her humbled and wise mother. Becoming the first-ever female CM of Punjab, she expressed affection for her late mother and dedicated her victory to every woman of Pakistan. To my mind, her commitment is woven by her principled mum and her vision is embroidered by her passion for serving her community.
Mariam is a leading figure committed to social change, which can drive the dreams of millions of people needing medical treatment, education, and decent means of livelihood. Soon after assuming the office, Maryam resumed work and announced the establishment of the first state-run cancer hospital, the Ramazan Package, and the introduction of the Punjabi language as a subject in schools. She pledged to end gender discrimination and protect religious minorities are initiatives which are seriously overlooked.
Last year I visited Pakistan twice and witnessed the country have been on such a downward trajectory where despair and hopelessness have blanketed the entire nation. Consequently, a weak justice system, incapable rule of law and tainted religious freedom have inflicted unbearable trauma as many Christian and Hindu families still struggle to recover their daughters who became the victims of forced conversion and marriage. Nevertheless, the population is losing everything, with thousands of lives extinguished as a result of unending terrorism and sectarian violence.
Like Khalil, we must always think political parties must recognise legitimate dissent, not only in parliament but also sometimes on the street, in the family to empower society. I was deeply moved to discover Khalil frequently visited his leader, Mian Nawaz Sharif in London as his foremost responsibility during his medical treatment, after the loss of Kulsoom Nawaz. The greatest gift anyone could ever give another person. Khalil’s services to acquire the GSP status, promote human rights, and religious freedom, and endless support for charitable causes like PICMA are second to none.
In the end, loyalty is the glue that can hold a nation together. Today, Maryam holding the highest political office is not only hailed by women’s rights activists and female politicians but also religious minorities who believe Maryam’s appointment is a big step for women’s and religious minorities’ empowerment in Pakistan. In many ways, Maryam’s pledge to lead crisis-ridden Punjab is a sliver of hope, which has rightly put restoring public trust at the top of her agenda.
Amid crisis and chaos, Maryam sends a message of reconciliation, and harmony in her maiden speech. She knows an eye for an eye will make the whole nation blind.
The writer is based in UK, and has specialization in health informatics from Johns Hopkins University.