New Delhi: Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan often considered to be a puppet of the Army is coming under immense pressure from his brother Nawaz Sharif, the founder of the PML-N.
Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister of Pakistan and his daughter Mariyam Sharif are unhappy with the concessions that Shehbaz has been giving the Army.
Indian officials say that Nawaz feels that his brother is allowing Field Marshal Asim Munir too many liberties and wants him to step in where appointments to key posts are concerned.
The Prime Minister would be landing in Islamabad on Wednesday to finalise the notification relating to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF).
Nawaz Sharif feels that it should be the government and not the Army that takes a call on the appointment of sensitive military posts. While Shehbaz does not want to interfere with certain appointments, Nawaz thinks otherwise. The flashpoint between the two brothers are the appointments of the Vice Chief of Army Staff and Commander of the National Strategic Command.
Pakistan watchers say that Nawaz Shariff still has a strong hold over the party and it is at his mercy that Shehbaz remains Prime Minister. An official said that Shehbaz has to make the tough call on whether to listen to his brother or the Army, which was responsible for him being becoming Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Nawaz and his daughter Mariyam feel that the government should not give away too much to the Army and instead should hold control. The founder of the PML-N is of the view that the Army cannot have too many yes-men at top posts. Allowing this would give too much control to the Army and the government would be viewed as a puppet.
Experts say that this has put Shehbaz in a difficult position and he will have to choose between his brother and the Pakistan Army.
This situation also has all chances of blowing up into a severe conflict between the political leadership and the military. This could also create a split within the party. Many PML-N leaders feel that Shehbaz is giving away too much to Asim Munir and this would be detrimental in the long run.
Although, Imran Khan is a rival, Nawaz still understands that the former prime minister enjoys a huge amount of popularity in Pakistan. His treatment by the Pakistan Army has not gone down too well with the people. The people feel that he was robbed of power despite democratically winning the elections. Moreover, he is a national icon who won Pakistan its only Cricket World Cup.
The treatment of Imran Khan and the manner in which Shehbaz has given away too many concessions has put both the PML-N and Army in poor light. Nawaz Sharif feels that giving too much leeway to the Army has two problems. One is the public perception as the people have realised that the PML-N is nothing but a puppet in the hands of the military. Two, placing too many yes-men of the Army in the establishment would give the military too much control.
This would only result in the government not being able to take any decision in the interest of the people. An official said that the Army is not accountable and hence will not bother too much about the welfare of the people. This is not the case of a political party as it will have to face the people during the elections.
Moreover Nawaz Sharif is worried that his party and the government would not have any institutional safeguards if the military is allowed to have its way. He wants people selected by the government to be in key posts so that the military does not engage in any political engineering. Nawaz Sharif has been a victim of such a situation on many occasions and he wants to prevent that at any cost, an officer added.
Moreover the PML-N founder also wants the the government to have oversight over the nuclear infrastructure in the country. He feels that this power cannot alone rest with the military which is completely under the control over a very ambitious Munir.
Experts say that while Nawaz does have a point, Shehbaz may find it hard to tow his brother’s line. This has led to a rift between the Sharifs.
Intelligence agencies say that Pakistan is bracing for further turmoil with the Sharifs not remaining on the same page and a certain rift between the political and military leadership.
(IANS)
