First, the fundamentals: In Pakistan, the election cycle is not the only process to be watched when determining the future political direction of the country; the cycle of the appointments of, and extensions granted to, the army chief is of equal and sometimes greater importance.
That is because Pakistan’s chequered political history is the tale of a push and pull between civilian politicians and the military establishment -- says aljazeera.com.
"These are the things the PPP is known for, and it is in keeping with the tradition of Bilawal Zardari Bhutto's grandfather (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) and mother (Benazir Bhutto), which he is trying to revive.” said an enthusiastic PPP admirer.
For coming Feb 8 general elections in Pakistan, of course Bilawal is a chief player. A smart question everyone loves to ask at this juncture is, "Can Bilawal recapture the magic his mother weaved?" Well, that's the question 'Dawn' newspaper posed as a headline to a lengthy article on him.
It is said, the young chairman of PPP (Bilawal) is trying to forge a more youthful path for the PPP, which has been "demonised for years".
But will he be able to shed the baggage his party has accumulated? There are stories coming about growing differences between him and father Asif Zardari. Onetime Zardari was called Mr 10 per cent.
The story goes in 2024, the son is stepping out from under Asif Zardari’s shadow and has already shown "his true colours to the masses", says the article in 'Dawn'.
Pak analysts are describing Imran Khan better. Out of sight, and also out of electoral 'fight' as he is in jail, but the ex cricket icon is never out of mind !!
PTI founder was lately sent behind bar for 10 years; but it is suspected that he is still expected to play a major role in the polls. A creation of Pakistan army as a 'neta', Imran fell out with the military and the rest is history.
Here goes a candid line - "Once dubbed the establishment’s (read army's) “blue-eyed boy”, former prime minister Imran finds himself on the sidelines, with his nomination papers for 2024 elections rejected, and his party in tatters.
One cannot agree more.
Sharif Brothers: Smarty politico blood brothers and active yet again !!
"Having already been prime minister more times than any other Pakistani politician, but never for a full term, Nawaz Sharif hopes to break his unlucky streak the fourth time around. Nawaz and Shehbaz were born in 1949 and 1950, respectively, and have been prominent faces in politics since the 1980s," says 'Dawn' newspaper.
The 1999 coup in October was a major threat Nawaz had faced. But he struck back. In 2014, when Narendra Modi was sworn in, Nawaz Sharif attended the swearing in ceremony braving Delhi's torturous summer. Apparently, both tried to ensure between two countries.
Modi himself flew out of turn to meet Nawaz on his birthday. Yet, Pakistan army was ever uncomfortable with closer bond. Nawaz was hounded out.
But the new story is Army and Sharif family are now friends.
Nawaz Sharif was unable to complete even his third term after the Supreme Court convicted him in the Panama Papers case in 2017 and disqualified him from holding any public office. After his removal as the PML-N head in 2018, Shehbaz took on the mantle of acting president, while Nawaz was elected the party’s “Quaid (leader) for life”.
That same year, the SC ruled that disqualification was for life. It seemed the curtain had fallen on Nawaz’s political career. But not quite !!
Maryam Nawaz, the apparent political heir of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, is a familiar face in Pakistani politics. Known for her biting rhetoric and ability to both pull and rouse a crowd, Maryam has made a name for herself in a political sphere dominated by men.
The three-time ‘first daughter’ was born in 1974. She married Mohammad Safdar, then a captain in the Pakistan Army, in 1992 during her father’s first term as prime minister.
She largely remained behind the scenes till 2013 when she helped manage her father’s re-election campaign. Maryam, then 39 years old, was the PML-N’s counter to the popularity that PTI’s Imran Khan enjoyed among the youth, says 'Dawn'.
Once her father was in power, Maryam was appointed as the chairperson of the Prime Minister Youth Loan Programme. Maryam became more active in politics during her father’s almost four-year self-exile in the United Kingdom; she was appointed vice president for the first time in 2019.
She led large anti-government rallies across the country, fiercely criticising Imran and the PTI as well as the army and judiciary for her father’s ouster and allegedly bringing the then-PTI chairman into power.
However, she appeared to take a back seat as the Pakistan Democratic Movement — the coalition of political parties — gathered steam and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif became the opposition’s nominee for the next prime minister.
Zaigham Khan wrote for Prism in October 2023 that Maryam’s “inconsistent style of political activism, characterised by alternating periods of high activity followed by prolonged absences, made it challenging for her to maintain a consistent political persona.
Imran and many other PTI leaders have also been imprisoned along with a host of party workers, most of whom were arrested in the aftermath of the events of May 9, 2023, when military installations were attacked during protests against the army that turned violent.
The PTI claims it was a false flag event while the establishment — as the military in Pakistan is euphemistically known — and its allies insist it was an attempt to cause a mutiny in the ranks of the military.
The truth, as usual, likely lies somewhere in the middle, says aljazeera. com.
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