Things getting interesting again, who would have thought 8-9 years ago he would come back and reclaim his CMship! This is a huge blow for the chuahdries of Gujrat
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
With almost effortless ease, Shahbaz Sharif, seen by many as the brain within the PML-N, has slipped back into the slot of Punjab chief minister which he had vacated over eight years ago in October 1999. He has done so with a flourish, displaying immense confidence and a readiness to resume seamlessly from where he left off. The triumph for Shahbaz, who secured 265 votes in a house of 342 with the PML-Q staging a boycott, and who was greeted with vociferous cries of ‘sher aya sher’ (Here comes the lion) as he walked into the chamber, comes as a direct blow to President Musharraf, and his key allies in Punjab, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. The votes picked up by the PML-N in the February poll and the return to the post of provincial chief executive of Shahbaz show that the efforts to decimate and destroy the party have ended in naught.
Immediately after he was elected, in an animated address to the Punjab Assembly Shahbaz repeated his previous plea to Musharraf to ‘have mercy on the nation’ and resign. He struck the same note of calm aggression at a press conference delivered after the assembly session, at which he emphasized that it was impossible for his party to work with an unconstitutional president. However, Shahbaz side-stepped questions regarding the issue of a ‘safe exit’ for Musharraf, saying only that he did not seek vengeance.
Shahbaz Sharif also made it clear that he was eager to keep the coalition intact. He spoke of how governments comprising several parties in India had been able to survive despite differences over key issues, and stated that he would be talking with the PPP leadership to find ways to resolve the judges issue, thus avoiding confrontation.
The PML-N party line has thus been clearly laid out by Shahbaz. He has also made it obvious that over the days ahead, he is likely to figure as a key political player and will, from his vantage point in Punjab, keeping an eye on many issues. For his province, Shahbaz also defined his vision and his aims. While criticizing the previous government for failing to set up water projects or take initiatives in other areas, Shahbaz spoke of the urgent need to safeguard the welfare of the agricultural sector, provide irrigation schemes and to offer people education and social justice.
The Punjab chief minister has demonstrated he has, during his eight year exile, lost none of the fire and sense of direction that characterized his last tenure in power. He is clearly as determined as ever to further strengthen his reputation as a superb administrator and a demanding taskmaster. At the same time however, while commenting on issues of national politics, he appears to have acquired a new found maturity and poise. This has been evident in his stress on the need to work with the federal government, to strengthen the coalition and to avoid moves that can destabilize government. These are all positive signals, for both Punjab and the centre. Shahbaz Sharif, as the man commanding the country’s most influential province, seems determined to play a constructive role – and this is a good omen for a country still caught up in crisis over two months after the new government in the centre was sworn in.