... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
the battle is far from over. The former prime minister now returns to the masses before the start of the second and more critical phase of the impending legal and political battles. And for that he has chosen the heartland of Punjab, along GT Road, described as the bastion of political power.
It is, indeed, a calculated move intended to galvanise popular support in his political stronghold by playing the victim card. His tenor is becoming increasingly strident as the battle lines are redrawn. There is no more mincing of words about those he thinks plotted his ouster -- the deep state. Nawaz Sharif is not willing to go down without a fight.
It is a completely different situation than what Sharif had confronted in his two previous ousters. He may be out, but his party still holds sway in both the centre and Punjab, giving him the political advantage he did not have in the past. It is not like an ousted leader braving a hostile state power.
Of course, Sharif knows that he may not be reinstated as prime minister, but he wants to defend his legacy and maintain his family’s dynastic hold over power. And for the latter, the area along GT Road is absolutely critical. What gives the former prime minister hope is a divided and squabbling opposition unable to capitalise on his disqualification.
His main nemesis Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
now seems to be trapped in a texting scandal affecting the PTI’s campaign against the House of Sharif. The PPP appears marginalised in this war for the GT Road area. Moreover, there is a limit to the perceived powers of the security establishment to manipulate the entire range of emerging political dynamics. The Tahirul Qadri
...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him...
card has long been exposed and that spent force cannot deliver.