Nawaz Sharif’s return

The highlight of the much-hyped All Parties Conference (APC) was the address by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. The former prime minister’s speech was highly anticipated as he broke months of silence ever since he left for London on the pretext of seeking medical treatment and never returned.

Nawaz Sharif held a no-holds-barred diatribe against the political forces that he said are controlling the country. He said that his struggle was not against Imran Khan but rather the forces that brought him to power. During the speech that went over an hour, he recalled how democratically-elected governments were shown the door while military dictatorships flourished. He said it is now time to end this for good and restrain the powers that have running a parallel system.

The speech is seen as one of Nawaz Sharif’s boldest to date particularly since he left for London. A lot has changed since and he has been declared an absconder in several cases. There are bitter divisions within the party as Maryam Nawaz wrestles control from Shehbaz Sharif. The rest of the PML-N leadership is facing a myriad of cases or remain under custody.

Many federal ministers termed Nawaz Sharif’s speech as an open declaration of war against the country. Nawaz Sharif also said they will not accept legislation being done by the parliament. This is widely seen as an attack on the FATF-related bills that have passed against money laundering and terror financing. It is also seen as opposition to upcoming plans to declare Giligit-Baltistan as a province, a key demand for the realization of CPEC.

While others have seen the speech as reviving his political career, Nawaz Sharif has sealed his own fate. It is clear that he would be unlikely to return anytime soon and will continue with fiery speeches from abroad. The opposition will continue its agitation but it would be unlikely to bring any substantial change to bring down Imran’s government.

The speech has also marked the death knell for Maryam Nawaz’s career. She is unlikely to join her father and might be unable to handle the challenges of full drawn movement. PPP would be interested in a campaign against Imran rather the establishment and JUI-F chief would be left standing alone. The only thing sure that we would witness a lot of political action in the coming months.