ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz, drawing power from her father’s endorsement of her anti-establishment narrative, and exercising it ruthlessly through threats of punishment to those party members who fail to follow directives has angered many veteran PML-N leaders.
True she is the only Sharif who is in the country and not in jail but her attitude is arrogant and she is alienating many senior leaders, said one party stalwart on condition of anonymity.
One can understand such threats when the party is in power but not when it’s in the wilderness; besides there are many within all the three national parties who change loyalties when the party is out of power and in this context such an attitude defies logic, he added.
Given the poor performance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf the party that will benefit the most from possible defections from PML-N is Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which is playing its cards just right: dealing with Maryam Nawaz and keeping a soft stance with respect to the establishment.
Maryam Nawaz publicly denied warning those within the party who are “plying on both sides of the pitch” to be ready for “reward and punishment”, as any member found involved in defying the party leadership decision would face punitive action; and claimed that she had praised the party for the extraordinary show of strength in the Lahore Jalsa.
Senior party leader Javed Latif publicly confirmed Maryam Nawaz categorically told the party lawmakers that there would be “reward and punishment” – reward for those loyal to the leadership and punishment for those going against the party decisions.
Maryam Nawaz had earlier warned PML-N members of massive protests outside their residence if they opposed the decisions taken by the party, a threat that had angered many PML-N leaders.
Informed sources further told this correspondent that the PDM was formed to achieve some political goals top of which is to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan, but the stance taken by party vice president Maryam Nawaz and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is unlikely to be successful.
“We wanted to bring down the PTI government, but the PDM leadership excluding PPP, is yet to understand how to play their cards,” said a senior PML-N leader on condition of anonymity, who is among those against quitting from the assemblies.
He pointed out that PPP is doing quite well, as they are well aware of the consequences of constantly targeting the establishment given the ‘experienced’ people within the party which unfortunately, the PML-N lacks due to absence of the party president Shehbaz Sharif.
“There is no denying the fact that some senior leaders are not happy and have quietly distanced themselves from Maryam Nawaz’s narrative and the way she is running the party with a handful of political novices surrounding her,” he further maintained.
Background interviews further revealed that the conspicuous absence of some senior PML-N leaders during the PDM’s recent countrywide rallies indicate that they remain deeply concerned at not only Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz’s tough anti-establishment narrative but also her handling of the party.
Senior PML-N leader Mushahidullah Khan, however, rejected any rift within the party, saying that all the party members abide by the party decisions. He said that the government ministers are creating some impression, ‘which needs to be seen in the context of their frustration’.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020