Follow Us on Google News
Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the PML-N, is scheduled to return Pakistan from a four-year stay in London in less than a week. Questioning the circumstances in which Nawaz Sharif has ‘agreed’ to return to the country, Both the PTI and the PPP think that an alleged covert deal with the military establishment is what made it possible for the elder Sharif to return home.
During a presser on Saturday, senior PPP leaders questioned the justification for giving official protocol to convicted Nawaz Sharif on his return to Pakistan, adding that if he gets clean chit from courts, then this facility should also be given to others.
It should be noted that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was convicted after being involved in many corruption scandals, was given permission to travel abroad in 2019 for medical care.
While the caretaker Information Minister denied the notion of Nawaz Sharif’s special treatment, saying Nawaz Sharif will be treated as per law. Critics, however, doubt this claim pointing toward Nawaz’s alleged deal with the establishment, which has been accused of meddling in the political affairs of the country.
At the federal and provincial levels, the PML-N is clearly given preferential treatment, and the corresponding interim administrations have shown no remorse for the apparent hypocrisy in their actions by enforcing stricter rules for the PTI while giving other parties more latitude.
Twelve PTI supporters were recently arrested outside Islamabad’s National Press Club for rallying behind the Palestinian cause. Moreover, the Lahore administration’s enthusiasm for the PML-N’s large rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan while simultaneously denying the PTI a similar gathering at Liberty Chowk has made it abundantly clear why the PML-N’s political rivals fear there will be no “level playing field” before the upcoming general election.
Unless the powerful quarters promptly relent from its domination of the political sphere, it’s likely that the approaching elections will be preceded and followed by intense controversies that will never let a civilian-led setup stand on its own feet. Thus, the country’s political landscape will remain fragile.
