Lahore:
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, who is once expected to regain the political reins at his very hyped returns before the parliamentary election, remains conspicuous on the periphery.
Despite a full-fledged PML-N government at the helm, Nawaz has chosen to stay behind the curtain and largely ignore burning national questions, including Balochistan.
Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan in 2023 after a five-year-old self-employed exile in London, which was largely seen as a calculated bid for Sidestep Prison, has since held a low profile that governs the political limelight despite his party forming the government.
Many consider this retreat as part of the PML-N’s quiet covenant with the establishment, an indication to regain the rein of power without tilting the boat.
Within party rows, however, there is growing turmoil that Nawaz’s long-standing absence from the helm, despite being considered the ideological glue that holds PML-N’s base together, could prove to be expensive if the political playing field was ever really smoothed.
When the party’s undisputed Lodstar, Nawaz has now disappeared in the background of the point where he even lacks a appointed spokesman who was transformed into one of the most evasive figures for the local media.
According to media reports, Nawaz was expected to return to Pakistan this Thursday. But when the Express Pakinomist reached two party leaders, also had no idea his itinerary.
The usual relapse of the party – Branding Nawaz as the “indicative force” behind key decisions – has begun to bear thin. It was even recovered recently when Punjab -Information Minister Azma Bukhari credited Nawaz “to oversee war planning and execution,” which got ridiculing and transformed him into the back of jokes.
Interestingly, Nawaz has not spoken to the local media since returning to Pakistan. However, during his frequent trips to London, he seems more comfortable and engages freely with journalists based there.
A senior party leader from Punjab told The Express Pakinomist that PML-N was increasingly giving the political space to the establishment, an approach he warned, would have serious consequences in the future. “Now we like to run on the establishment’s coattails, but tomorrow, as the command changes, we will feel the heat from our tabs,” he said.
The leader emphasized that Nawaz Sharif must enter the political river to keep the party alive. “At this point, PML-N is stuck between two administrators, Maryam and Nawaz. Both lack political maturity. Everyone in the party knows their actual value.”
“We are gasping for thinking about the day when the establishment is ditching. We do not have a useful tale to reach Punjab -people.”
