News Analysis |
Disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rubbished speculations about his seeking some ‘NRO’ from the establishment and said he was opposed to a judiciary that serves dictators’ interests or hides behind the doctrine of necessity. Ironically this claim by the disqualified premier goes against his political history.
Talking to the media after attending NAB court in connection with corruption references against him and other family members, he dismissed the impression of a rift in Sharif family. Nawaz said that he was not trying to strike any underhand deal with the establishment. He said the previous NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) was the result of a deal done by the Pakistan People’s Party with the then dictator Pervez Musharraf.
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Nawaz’s denials were no doubt fueled from the tweets of his political nemesis, Imran Khan. The PTI chief had tweeted on Tuesday said that the PML(N) “London game plan” had made it evident that Nawaz was desperate for another NRO-like deal.The NRO was a controversial ordinance issued by the former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, on 5 October 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder, and terrorism between 1 January 1986, and 12 October 1999.
Nawaz Sharif became the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 through the platform of the IJI (Islami Jamhoori Ittehad), which was allegedly created and funded by the Zia loyalists in the ISI. It is alleged to have received Rs. 15 million from the ISI.
Nawaz Sharif was one of the beneficiaries of this controversial ordinance. He, however, tried to distance himself from the stigma of the NRO, long associated with the corrupt.
If one looks at the history of Nawaz, it can be seen that he is not averse to cutting deals to either save himself or rising to power. His diatribes against the establishment also fly in the face of reality as he was a product of a military dictatorship. Nawaz Sharif’s political journey began in the lap of General Zia ul Haq during the 1980s.
In May 1980 Ghulam Jilani Khan, the recently appointed Governor of Punjab and a former Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), initiated a search for new urban leaders. Sharif was one of the men he found and promoted, quickly making him the Finance Minister of Punjab. In 1981, Sharif joined the Punjab Advisory Board under General Zia-ul-Haq and principally rose to public and political prominence as a staunch proponent of the military government.
Here he showed a knack for self-preservation by signing a deal with the military government under the patronage of the Saudis and the Lebanese. Nawaz would deny such a deal before all and sundry until the Lebanese and Saudis disclosed it in 2007.
In fact, Nawaz’s fascination for Zia Ul Haq as well as his dependence on the establishment would go on long after Zia’s death. Nawaz Sharif became the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 through the platform of the IJI (Islami Jamhoori Ittehad), which was allegedly created and funded by the Zia loyalists in the ISI. It is alleged to have received Rs. 15 million from the ISI.
Read more: Why Nawaz wants to club three NAB references?
Sharif’s second rise to power is again speculated to be the work of hidden hands. The PPP to this day vehemently contends that Nawaz’s massive landslide victory in 1997 was a result of interference by the establishment.
After Nawaz’s removal in a bloodless coup by General Pervez Musharraf, his life was in the balance. Here he showed a knack for self-preservation by signing a deal with the military government under the patronage of the Saudis and the Lebanese. Nawaz would deny such a deal before all and sundry until the Lebanese and Saudis disclosed it in 2007.
In the end, it can be concluded that all assertion of a new NRO being desired by Nawaz is not something far from reality; in essence, the disqualified Prime Minister has displayed an aptitude for cutting underhanded deals to save his own skin.