LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has been tipped to succeed him as leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's three-times premier, was barred from public office by the Supreme Court in July 2017. With his political future hanging in balance, political pundits have tipped his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to succeed him as party leader.
The Supreme Court ruled that Nawaz Sharif had been “dishonest” in not disclosing his earnings from a Dubai-based company in his nomination papers for the 2013 general election. As a result of the ruling, Mr Sharif not only lost his position as prime
minister, but also as leader of the party.
Soon after the verdict, political pundits were reporting that PML-N was in trouble as there was no clear successor. Sharif's two sons, Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, have shown no interest in politics, but daughter Maryam Nawaz has been politically active.
But the idea of her inheriting office has some prominent opponents, among them Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, who when he was minister for interior, spoke out against her ‘political heirship’. He is on record as having said: “Kids are kids and kids are apolitical. Maryam is a daughter, not political leader”, in a televised interview.
Another parliamentarian, Riaz Pirzada, suggested Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab province, should be put in charge, but this suggestion has not won party backing.
With large numbers of PML-N leaders and workers faithful to the Sharif family, and not allied to another potential leader, Maryam Nawaz has been seen as the only choice for Sharif loyalists.
“Since Shahbaz Sharif is the Chief Minister of the Punjab, Maryam Nawaz remains the only choice to lead the party at national level,” said Pervaiz Aslam, an old party worker.
Against her is the fact that she has no experience of parliamentary politics — she has never belonged to any elected body such as senate, national or provincial assembly.
However, her supporters urge that she has led the prime minister’s youth program and worked with a large number of legislators.
She led the successful campaign for the election of her mother Kulsoom Nawaz to her father's Lahore seat after he was disqualified from office.
Maryam Nawaz, 44, was made chair of the family philanthropic trust, the Sharif Trust, in 1997. The mother of three joined her father’s political party in 2011 becoming chair of the Prime Minister Youth Programme in 2013. The BBC has listed her as one of the 100 most influential women in the world.
In 2012, Newsweek Pakistan described her as Nawaz Sharif’s “heir apparent” and the “presumed future leader” of PML-N.
She came to prominence in publicity over leaks revealed in an article in English-language newspaper Dawn, in October 2016. The controversial article reported the army's reluctance to crack down on some militant groups allegedly involved in attacks against neighboring India and Afghanistan.
Maryam's critics called her the mastermind of this political fiasco for the Nawaz Sharif government. Despite this, she was not named in the Dawn leaks investigation.
Chaudhary Khadim Hussain, Editor Political Affairs in Urdu newspaper Daily Pakistan, said that the family was in hot water: “[The] Nawaz family, including Maryam, is facing trial, but still PML-N finds Maryam Nawaz the alternative of Nawaz Sharif.
Maryam is active on social media where she has defended her father’s policies and contested the allegations against her father and brothers. In speaking up for Nawaz Sharif, and explaining his position, she sometimes apparently takes a different line from the party leadership.
Along with her husband, father and brothers, she also faces the Accountability Court.
Her staunch defense against the action has boosted her image with party workers. It is said that she is facing a bad situation bravely.
“The person who is giving the ‘Nawaz narrative’ is Maryam Nawaz. She is fighting the case of her father and people loyal to Nawaz Sharif in the PML-N look to her,” Mujibur Rehman Shami, a senior editor and Nawaz Sharif family confidant, told Arab News.
“One thing should be clear to all that the forthcoming election is not hers. She has to wait for a few years to regain the power of her father,” he added.
Will Maryam Nawaz emerge as the new PML-N leader?
Will Maryam Nawaz emerge as the new PML-N leader?
Pakistan’s president defends ongoing strikes in Afghanistan, urges Kabul to dismantle militants
- Afghanistan on Thursday launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday
- Pakistan’s military says it is only targeting Afghan military installations to avoid civilian casualties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s president on Monday defended his country’s ongoing military strikes in neighboring Afghanistan, saying Islamabad tried all forms of diplomacy before targeting militants operating from Afghan territory, and called on the Taliban government in Kabul to disarm groups responsible for attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan earlier said it is in “open war” with Afghanistan, alarming the international community. The border area remains a stronghold for militant organizations including Al-Qaeda and the Daesh (Islamic State) group.
“(The Afghan Taliban) must choose to dismantle the terror groups that survive on conflict and its war economy,” Asif Ali Zardari said during a speech to lawmakers, adding that “no state accepts serial attacks on its soil.”
Afghanistan on Thursday launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along the border, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claiming the killing of 435 Afghan forces and the capture of 31 Afghan positions.
Kabul has denied such claims.
In Afghanistan, the deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistan’s military fired mortar shells at a refugee camp in eastern Kunar province, killing three children and injuring three others.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said Afghan forces carried out strikes targeting a Pakistani military facility near Paktia province, causing “substantial losses and heavy casualties.”
Pakistan’s military did not respond to questions. It has said Pakistan is only targeting Afghan military installations to avoid civilian casualties.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge of violence in recent months and blames it on the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. It operates both inside Pakistan and from Afghan territory.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing safe havens for the TTP, which Kabul denies.
The latest cross-border fighting ended a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye in October. The two sides failed to reach a permanent agreement during talks in Istanbul.
Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s call for talks, saying, “We have never walked away from dialogue.”
The Pakistani leader again accused Afghanistan of acting as a proxy for India by sheltering militant groups.
“Stop being used by another country as a battlefield for their ambitions,” he said.
Zardari cited a recent report from the United Nations Security Council’s monitoring team that described the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan as an extra-regional threat.
