Towards a better future

The crowd was enchanted, the leaders were full of emotions, and the cameras were facing the helicopter approaching in the skies. Mian Nawaz Sharif was about to land and millions were witnessing a sight no one could have imagined just a couple of years ago. Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif was once again in his country, among his people and ready to face the justice system that had wronged him five years ago, and also fight the challenges Pakistan faces.

Mian Nawaz Sharif's arrival on the stage for me was a moment of deja vu. I remembered my visit in August 2018 to Mian Sahib and Maryam Nawaz in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. It had been a month since they had been imprisoned, and Pakistan had just witnessed its most rigged elections. Begum Kulsoom's health was deteriorating and the government was not allowing Mian Sahib and Maryam Nawaz to make even a single phone call to her in her final hours.

But in our meeting we found both father and daughter zealous and zestful in their resolve. They told us to remain strong, to not worry about their plight, and to never ask for any favours from those exercising tyranny. Their resolve was unparalleled. Their 'Tawakkul' was too strong. On the stage in Lahore the day Mian Nawaz Sharif returned, I witnessed how tyranny failed and truth prevailed. Hundreds of thousands chanted – for a future that was stolen from them.

The stage was set but the execution was not a walk in the park. These were five whole years of resisting the tyrannical powers that be. The credit of mobilizing the party machinery and keeping the supporters engaged goes to Maryam Nawaz who worked day and night to deliver the assembly present. Five long years of leading rallies all over Pakistan, holding jalsas, meeting and actuating the party's youth and social media wings had finally borne fruit. The crowd was a standing ovation to Mian Nawaz Sharif's lethal weapon, his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

When Mian Nawaz Sharif embraced his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and greeted us with his hand on our heads, we knew that our leader is here to guide us all towards a better tomorrow. In his address he spoke about the ills of the past and of the sorrows he faced at the hands of the tyrannical, but he kept his focus and eyes towards the future, laying down the sketch of how Pakistan should act in the region and in the world. He was a statesman talking to his people with the commitment of delivery.

It is an unarguable fact that Mian Nawaz Sharif has his finger on the pulse of this nation. He knows where the problem lies, and he knows the short-term remedies and the long-term goals. He has always made sure to deliver on the short-term remedies and provide a breathing space to the working class while creating a long-term path of prosperity and success for Pakistan.

With political experiments of the past backfiring, I have a strong belief that the will of the people will guide the future of Pakistan. And under Mian Nawaz Sharif's leadership, we will see a prosperous Pakistan.

The writer is a pharmacist and apolitical worker with a focus on youth, health and female initiatives. She is the former youngest memberof the Punjab Assembly. She tweets/posts @Saniaaashiq