THERE must be moments in Nawaz Sharif’s mind when he questions whether it has all been worth it. The humiliation at the unfeeling hands of Z.A. Bhutto’s nationalisation, the confiscation of his newly wedded wife’s jewellery stored in the office safe in Ittefaq Foundries, the grovelling before a PPP government to have it restored, the sycophancy before Gen. Zia-ul Haq, the puppet years as Punjab’s finance minister and then chief minister, the gruelling rigours of electioneering, the bittersweet fruits of three prime ministerships, incarceration in Attock Fort, the 24-karat alms given as political zakat by the Saudis, the luxury flats in London, the obese bank balances abroad, and the widening rift in his father’s family. Was it worth the price? Now, he sits by the bedside of his ailing wife in a London hospital, unable to compensate her for the years of separation and her sacrifice during their 46-year marriage.
Nawaz Sharif’s political oscillations remind one of the person who had a nightmare that he was making a public speech, and awoke to find that he was. In Nawaz Sharif’s case, his recurring nightmare has been of being removed from office by forces inimical to him. Thrice he has woken and found that he was. In 1993 the Supreme Court granted him a reprieve, but it proved shortlived. In 1999, President Bill Clinton rescued him over the Kargil misadventure, but could not prevent the coup by Gen. Musharraf’s cohorts. And now, in 2017, he has again been ousted. The ex-PM is growing in similarity to King Charles I. Vainly did the deposed king assert that “Princes are not bound to give an account of their Actions but to God alone”. Unheeded went his claim that “the King can do no wrong”. And in his final moments, on the scaffold in London’s Whitehall in January 1649, he uttered these words: “I Am the Martyr of the People.” Many argue that the National Assembly byelection will be the barometer of Nawaz Sharif’s popularity. Whatever the result may be, it will be a false reading. The test for all the parties determined to have a say in the governance of Pakistan will be the next general election. They are currently scheduled within 90 days after June 2018.
After those elections, whichever party gains an absolute majority will be able to escape the reality that is today’s Pakistan. Here is a list of tasks our future PM might like to ignore: Control the population. The latest provisional census has revealed that there are 207.77 million Pakistanis. Half of them are under the age of 25, and will procreate. Implement a national curriculum. Ration water usage. Water, like a mother’s love, cannot be taken for granted. Water, water nowhere, and not a potable drop to drink. Encourage vertical urbanisation. The sky is the limit. Control consumption. No nation can afford $50 billion of unbridled imports, more than twice the value of its exports. Justify defence expenditure. “Every gun, every warship, every rocket is a theft from those who hunger, those who are not clothed.” Dwight D. Eisenhower’s words, not mine. The list is endless. It will grow, not because Pakistan’s problems are insoluble but because every government has chosen to oscillate between rapacious governance and inept governance Why does Nawaz Sharif then crave for a fourth term?
By arrangement with Dawn
