A vindication and a huge loss of face.
Monday, June 09, 2008
By Tariq Butt
ISLAMABAD: A true vindication of the Sharif brothers and an enormous loss of face for President Pervez Musharraf was evident as Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the chief minister of the Punjab, eight years and four months after the PML-N government was booted out on gun point in 1999.
Peopleís power expressed in the February 18 parliamentary elections nailed all machinations and palace intrigues to keep the Sharifs away from the corridors of power in a way that they wanted, at least, in the Punjab.
Its thunderous demonstration was seen on Sunday when Shahbaz became the chief minister for the second time, a rare honour in the history of the province that has a predominant say in the government affairs of Pakistan.
Till assumption of office and even after that, Shahbaz and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif did not relent on their rancorous opposition to Musharraf. They showed their determination to fight for Musharrafís fall and ouster from the presidency. They are writing new chapters in the history of defiance.
Only Musharraf could himself speak about the state he finds himself in after seeing Shahbazís election with a thumping majority. His ally, the PML-Q, did not pick up the courage even to field a candidate against Shahbaz or give the semblance of being an opposition.
Its dismally lacklustre protest against Shahbazís election amply reflected the woes of Musharraf, the partyís ëbenefactorí and ëbackerí, who has been mauled and battered thoroughly.
Regardless of the humiliation, universal rejection and the ever-mounting pressure, Musharraf continues to harp on the mantra that he is a constitutionally-elected president and would not stand down.
He is not bothered even if none of the four chief ministers ever called on him even once since assumption of their office or they have any plan to see him. Some of them attack him severely publicly.
During all these eight years and a half, a rather sponsored and inspired campaign has been on to drive a wedge between Nawaz and Shahbaz, portraying the former as a stubborn politician and the latter as a pragmatic politician, who is ready to play ball even with Musharraf. At the end of the day, all this turned out to be unfounded and groundless as the Sharif brothers have stayed solidly united.
A tough administrator, who had been admired across the board for his excellent performance on account of knocking out mafias in different fields, is back and his mere return is a loud message to the toughies to capitulate or be prepared to be decimated.
Before taking over, Shahbaz systematically overhauled Punjabís administrative machinery, throwing out the deadwood and favourites of the previous set-up. The remaining rotten lot will also be purged in the next couple of months as Shahbaz brooks no nonsense from any tier of the administrative machinery.
For years, Shahbazís successor, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, had tried to emulate him after developing a sort of obsession with his predecessorís style of governance. But he could not take hard decisions that Shahbaz could, irrespective of who was adversely affected.
The demolition of encroachments in the main areas of Lahore that Shahbaz had carried out without fear or favour was always remembered by all and sundry. He had always run a highly-efficient administration, a performance he is expected to repeat.
With his taking the reins of powers, difficult days await for the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, who had always focused their attention on the majority province and had been considering it as a citadel of political power. The new administration is going to bring many skeletons out of the cupboard of the Chaudhrys.
A vindication and a huge loss of face
