ISLAMABAD: Even before assuming the top office, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has taken two commendable decisions, which have attracted universal acclaim and practically proved that he is ready to sacrifice and concede power to his adversaries, contrary to his past.
At first, without any pressure, coaxing or tempting he decided to take a back seat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and let his political rival number one, the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI), which emerged as the single largest party in the provincial assembly although it did not obtain the simple majority, to form KPK government in alliance with some other parties and independent winners.
It was not a big deal for Sharif to garner more than the requisite support in the legislature to have his own provincial government.
To assuage his adherence to democratic norms, Sharif politely snubbed Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who was keen to form a coalition government in the province.
It was not something difficult for him to achieve in collaboration with Sharif. But seeing him standing ground on his principled stance, Rehman agreed with him and opted for the opposition role in the assembly.
It was indeed a bitter pill for the JUI chief to swallow, but he had no option.
Nawaz Sharif’s second decision that demonstrated his passion to resolve the “Baluchistan problem” by giving its nationalist forces a complete say in running its affairs is the nomination of Dr Abdul Malik as the next chief minister.
He thus smashed the decades-old unbreakable tradition that only a Sardar, a Nawab, a Mir or a tribal chieftain will rule Baluchistan.
Dr Malik is a commoner, non-Sardar and non-Nawab, having a very humble background but rich political experience dating back to his college days.
A most interesting aspect is that all the Sardars, Nawabs, Mirs, Jams and tribal chieftains genuinely support him as chief minister and lauds Nawaz Sharif’s decision. It was not an easy task for the PML-N chief to ignore Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, who heads his party in Balochistan and thus qualified to be chosen as the chief minister.
The PML-N chief has to do a lot of talking and persuasions to bring an apparently stubborn Zehri on board.
Internews
