ISLAMABAD:
In 2021, when her party, the PML-N, was going through tough times, with both her father, Nawaz Sharif, and uncle, Shehbaz Sharif, behind bars, Maryam Nawaz highlighted the connection between resistance and dialogue.
Maryam, who now serves as Punjab’s first woman chief minister, had said then that “only if there is resistance, there will be reconciliation”. She had positioned herself as a leading voice of opposition in her party.
“Power speaks with power. The powerful do not speak to the weak. The moment you show weakness, your enemy will hit you hard. You don’t get anything on a hill; you have to fight for your rights,” she had reportedly said.
Maryam had apparently made these remarks in response to calls from sections of her party urging her to tone down her rhetoric and pursue reconciliation.
The tough approach adopted by Maryam and her father, Nawaz Sharif, is believed to have played a key role in persuading the then powers to engage with the PML-N and other opposition parties.
Fast forward to 2025 and the same philosophy is now being promulgated by a section of the PTI, which is going through an even tougher time with founder Imran Khan in jail and the party struggling to find political ground for dialogue.
Following the conviction and sentencing of Imran Khan and his wife in the Toshakhana-II case, the former prime minister has urged the nation to “prepare for a street movement” and declared that “there is no alternative left” and that “the entire nation will have to rise up for its rights”.
The responsibility for mobilizing this movement now rests with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, whose mantra closely mirrors Maryam’s: reconciliation without resistance is not an option.
Before ending his three-day visit to Lahore, Afridi said PTI would use street protests to bring the government to the negotiating table.
“We will be at a loss if we engage in dialogue without resistance. So the protest movement will continue until those in power come to the table after recognizing the opposition as an equal partner,” he said.
The strategy has inevitably drawn comparisons with the PML-N’s approach as it was on the receiving end of state pressure. However, PTI leaders reject any such similarity.
Speaking to The Express Pakinomist, senior PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said Maryam Nawaz’s struggle could not be compared to PTI’s resistance.
“Maryam Nawaz is an uneducated woman and we do not accept her. She neither has a vision nor is she an ideal for us. We have our own narrative, our own strategy and we believe in fighting for our rights and will continue to do so,” he said.
Senior journalist Ihtishamul Haq agreed that the PTI seemed to be following the same template adopted by Maryam when the PML-N was in opposition. “There is no doubt that Imran Khan still enjoys a strong fan base. He is still popular but his party is on a weak footing,” he said.
He added that PTI was pursuing a policy of resistance but it has not yielded results so far. Ihtisham noted that the situation was different when the PML-N was in opposition, as the PTI now appears increasingly isolated.
“All institutions are against them (PTI). Most political parties are not in their favour,” he said, adding that the PTI would ultimately have to find space for itself through negotiations.
Senior journalist Sohail Warraich offered a more nuanced view of the contrast between the two. Speaking to The Express Pakinomist, he said that in a democracy, when there is a problem, the answer is more democracy.
“Similarly, if there is a problem with reconciliation, the solution is more reconciliation. Resistance, on the other hand, is about controlling the state or its institutions. Since the state has a monopoly on violence, no political party or individual can directly fight it,” he added.
Commenting specifically on PTI, Warraich said that the party’s strategy at present is all about resistance, with no room for reconciliation.
He said that life offers two ways to deal with obstacles: to offer resistance or to explore alternatives. “However, the PTI has not explored any alternatives. Their street power has largely diminished and while their vote bank still exists, it has limited influence as long as elections are not held.
“They need a strategy to organize their votes and party structure. If they really want to agitate, it needs to be done in an organized way.”
According to Warraich, the party has so far not been able to do that. In Punjab, he said, there is no effective PTI organizational structure. “Rathers and processions mostly take place in KP, while in Punjab nothing significant happens – not even a ripple,” he added.
As the PTI embraces resistance as a prerequisite for dialogue, the key question remains whether the public will respond to the party’s call for protests, and more importantly, whether the powerful quarters will change course against the embattled PTI and its jailed leadership.
