Muhammad Azam |
Responding to a reporter in front of the NAB court after her recent hearing, Maryam Nawaz indicated her dissatisfaction with the current PML-N government.
To be fair, Maryam has a lot to be dissatisfied about. Her family has been indicted on charges of money laundering; her father is struggling to maintain his grip over the party that bears his name; her uncle and his son are undermining her at every turn. The foundations of her family’s influence and power, built over decades, are eroding rapidly before her.
Ignoring the counsel of her father’s seasoned advisors and continuing her crusade against the military and judiciary betrays a deep-seated emotional conviction.
Despite overwhelming adversity, Maryam refuses to adopt a conciliatory tone. At every opportunity, she strikes at the “establishment” for threatening what she considers her birthright, the throne of her father.
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Ignoring the counsel of her father’s seasoned advisors and continuing her crusade against the military and judiciary betrays a deep-seated emotional conviction. An unshakable belief which must have taken seed when she was a young woman who saw her beloved father, the most powerful man in the nation, behind bars. The trauma of the disgrace and subsequent years in exile must have fed and matured this conviction.
The men in khaki and the men in black robes are my enemies.
Hatred of the “establishment” is a defining trait of her personality. It fuels and guides her when all around her men are trying to push and shove her to do what is most convenient for them.
To understand Maryam and the problem she poses for PML-N, her motivations and her personality must be recognized without judgment.
After watching her father disgraced for the third time, it would be unfair to expect objectivity and cool-headedness from her. As far as she is concerned, her mission is to break the fraternities that have expelled her father and taken away what could have been hers, no matter the cost.
For her Uncle and the veterans who built the most powerful political machine in the land, Maryam represents an existential threat. These battle-hardened men know that flexibility is the name of the game.
They understand that Maryam’s jabs at the establishment will only nudge them closer to the edge of the gangplank. With 2018 general elections on the horizon, time is of the essence.
What can they do? Despite media frenzy surrounding the purported “rebellion” within party ranks, PML-N has more or less maintained a neutral front. Some of Uncle’s friends have expressed their displeasure but nothing that can seriously be construed as an open cry of rebellion.
Is the PML-N hierarchy actually in disarray? Or have all stakeholders come to an understanding?
The most logical course of action would be to let the courts do the slaughtering. That way, Uncle’s hands would be clean when he finally takes the wheel.
The Nawaz stalwarts can’t cut down the heir-apparent of their patron. The “Sharif” brand has always gotten them votes. The prestige of the brand, which may have been devalued of late, is not beyond salvaging. Breaking ranks will only serve to accelerate their trajectory towards the abyss.
The most logical course of action would be to let the courts do the slaughtering. That way, Uncle’s hands would be clean when he finally takes the wheel.
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Maybe this was the reason why Maryam seemed a little off-balance when the topic of the present government came up. Her usual composure and eloquence seemed to have slipped for a nanosecond when she tried to express her feelings regarding Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi’s government.
Behind the veil of dissatisfaction, there was a hint of fear.
Although she still has a milieu of ministers around her, the streets of Islamabad are evacuated when her caravan zooms to the courts, she may have just now started perceiving the slight unease of a lamb that is pampered before being slaughtered.