Mohammad Jamil
Since his disqualification and jail sentence along with Maryam Nawaz and Capt. (retd) Safdar by the Accountability Court for possessing assets beyond the means and other charges, former PM Nawaz Sharif continued to spew venom against the military establishment and judiciary. His narrative that he was wronged by them had been rejected by the people more than once. United opposition had staged protest on 8th August 2018 in Islamabad against, what they called, rigging in July 2018 elections, but their call for protest failed to attract any public response. The heads of opposition parties Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto, Asfandyar Wali etc., remained absent, as they knew full well that people rejected Nawaz Sharif’s narrative, which should be an eye opener for the rejected leaders. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mehmood Achakzai, Maulana Fazal-ur- Rehman and those who pedaled Nawaz Sharif’s narrative have been rejected by the people.
Earlier, there was another flop show by the PML-N last month, when its President Shehbaz Sharif organized a rally to welcome PML-N supremo and a convict Nawaz Sharif on his return from London. Despite tall claims and efforts of the front line leaders of the party, it was a poor show in that the party had expected a crowd of hundreds of thousands whereas according to neutral observers the gathering was not more than a few thousands. It means that people in general and even party workers have rejected his narrative. Talking to the reporters in London before his departure, Nawaz Sharif had once again referred to 1970 elections and break-off the country. In January 2018, while addressing the lawyers at Punjab House, among other things he had said that former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was not a rebel, which is travesty of the truth.
He went on to say that he was made into one due to tragic consequences that followed the state’s refusal to allow a popularly elected leader to hold the prime minister’s office. Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Mehmood Achakzai adopted Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. They had opposed FATA’s merger with KP; therefore people rejected them in the elections on both counts. PML-N was the largest party of the country, but due to Nawaz Sharif’s narrative, it has shrunk even in Punjab which was once its citadel. He had provoked military establishment through Dawn leaks (Cyril Almaida) episodes, defaming Armed Forces/ISI. His last media conference in London before coming to Pakistan and venomous propaganda against Army/ISI showed his anti-state policies. Nawaz Sharif never strongly condemned India for her ceasefire violations at Line of Control and working boundary. In his speech at the UN, he talked about resolving the dispute through negotiations.
Has anyone ever taken a pause and pondered if the Indians too want a negotiated settlement of the issues; indeed more crucially, if they even intend to settle them at all? Just consider this. For a long time, Indian politicians and officials alike were loath even to accept Kashmir dispute’s existence. Way back in 1994, Indian Parliament had adopted a resolution, formally laying claim to Azad Kashmir. So why is it that Islamabad hierarchy especially former PM Nawaz Sharif has been deluding himself so blindingly and befooling this country’s people so beguilingly when the bitter ground realities are so obvious and daunting? Why he does not realize that when it comes to Pakistan, it is the Indian establishment that decides what kind of relationship India would have with Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif must know that Narendra Modi had admitted and took pride for his participation and India’s role in breakup of Pakistan.
Historical evidence suggested that Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was in liaison with India, and the latter had trained Mukti Bahini. And Indian leaders including current Prime Minister Narendera Modi had confessed having played role in disintegration of Pakistan. More recently, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and PML-N founder Nawaz Sharif endorsed the anti-Pakistan narrative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to his controversial statement about the Mumbai terror attacks. Sherry Rehman talking to media persons in Islamabad stated: “Questions are being raised about Pakistan at the international level owing to Nawaz Sharif’s statement. We have strong reservations with Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. Why didn’t he tell that India had failed to cooperate with Pakistan about the Mumbai terror attacks?” Having all said, general public has rejected Nawaz Sharif’s narrative, and sooner PML-N realizes better it is; otherwise it may lose the remaining members of the assemblies and thrown in the dustbin of history.
