Tough times ahead for the lions of Punjab
Saeed Minhas
Initial results have once again pitched the roaring lions of Punjab
against competing political ideologies of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and
Balochistan. By sweeping the Punjab’s National Assembly and provincial
assembly seats, PML-N have established their rights for the premiership
at the centre besides reclaiming the Khadam-e-Aala-ship of a politically
dominating province.
It isn’t 1988 nor it is 1993 but for sure it is 2013 where for all practical purposes an unpredictable new actor rather a cricketer has entered the national scene as a third player, nationalists of Balochistan have come forward to pitch their case and PPP-MQM will of course be there to haunt Mian sahib with good-old memories.
Punjab is not Pakistan was the first commendation Mian sahib has received from none other than our telephonic leader sitting in North London (UK) supposedly his arch rival in politics - at least for the past decade.
Apart from who said that what is emerging out of the current election results is the fact that first thing Mian Nawaz Sharif has to counter is his Punjab-centric approach. As per the emerging results of Elections 2013, Sindh stands very much in the hands of PPP and its former ally MQM, where PML-N once again failed to make inroads despite forging an alliance with the Sindhi nationalist parties and pitching in some strong waderas against PPP and even MQM. Though PML-F remains a potent player in Sindh but they certainly are neither in a position nor will be a willing player to provide any political advantage to Mian sahib against the two dominating parties of the province. Especially when it comes to playing the provincial cards, Pagaro’s-men will love to lie low.
Looking at KP, Imran Khan’s party has surfaced as a potent player there. We all know that the only similarity between Imran and Nawaz Sharif has been their coincidentally joint take on the one-way pounding of Taliban. But when it comes to solutions, Mian sahib might look Saudi-way but Imran wants an outright end to unilateral drone strikes.
Balochistan is an altogether a new ball game where a hotchpotch nationalists and national parties will be coming up with a coalition government of competing ideologies. Mineral rich this province is, but at the same time it has proven out to a problem rich province in the past decade or so. Addressing to the unique demands and concerns of these nationalists and bringing the estranged and armed nationalists back to the mainstream with empty promises and nice talk does not seem to be a feasible strategy now.
Be it economy, power shortage, youth bulge, post-2014 foreign policy, army dominance, Baloch insurgency, terrorism or most important of all a national unity, we certainly are lacking in all these and many other spheres. These elections might have matured the voters by showing up in big numbers for casting their votes and rejecting the bad performers but has our leadership understood the dynamics of this development? We hope and pray that they do and act accordingly.
It isn’t 1988 nor it is 1993 but for sure it is 2013 where for all practical purposes an unpredictable new actor rather a cricketer has entered the national scene as a third player, nationalists of Balochistan have come forward to pitch their case and PPP-MQM will of course be there to haunt Mian sahib with good-old memories.
Punjab is not Pakistan was the first commendation Mian sahib has received from none other than our telephonic leader sitting in North London (UK) supposedly his arch rival in politics - at least for the past decade.
Apart from who said that what is emerging out of the current election results is the fact that first thing Mian Nawaz Sharif has to counter is his Punjab-centric approach. As per the emerging results of Elections 2013, Sindh stands very much in the hands of PPP and its former ally MQM, where PML-N once again failed to make inroads despite forging an alliance with the Sindhi nationalist parties and pitching in some strong waderas against PPP and even MQM. Though PML-F remains a potent player in Sindh but they certainly are neither in a position nor will be a willing player to provide any political advantage to Mian sahib against the two dominating parties of the province. Especially when it comes to playing the provincial cards, Pagaro’s-men will love to lie low.
Looking at KP, Imran Khan’s party has surfaced as a potent player there. We all know that the only similarity between Imran and Nawaz Sharif has been their coincidentally joint take on the one-way pounding of Taliban. But when it comes to solutions, Mian sahib might look Saudi-way but Imran wants an outright end to unilateral drone strikes.
Balochistan is an altogether a new ball game where a hotchpotch nationalists and national parties will be coming up with a coalition government of competing ideologies. Mineral rich this province is, but at the same time it has proven out to a problem rich province in the past decade or so. Addressing to the unique demands and concerns of these nationalists and bringing the estranged and armed nationalists back to the mainstream with empty promises and nice talk does not seem to be a feasible strategy now.
Be it economy, power shortage, youth bulge, post-2014 foreign policy, army dominance, Baloch insurgency, terrorism or most important of all a national unity, we certainly are lacking in all these and many other spheres. These elections might have matured the voters by showing up in big numbers for casting their votes and rejecting the bad performers but has our leadership understood the dynamics of this development? We hope and pray that they do and act accordingly.
Nawaz is a sher and shers dont care what the rest of jungle is thinking
ReplyDeleteMian Nawaz Sharif will face it all dont you worry man
ReplyDelete