Kulsoom Nawaz remembered

The shocking breaking news of the passing away of Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of the three times elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, went viral dropping the pall of grief all over the country with sense of shock and sadness. The people belonging to all spectrum of life were generally in a sense of loss extending their sympathies to the bereaved family as the infinite number of condolence messages continued pouring in throughout both within the country and without. PPP top leadership, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, shared the grief with the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family .Prime Minister, Imran Khan, expressed his sense of deep condolence on the tragic news that he reportedly came to know when he was in a meeting. Similar messages of condolences were sent by the President of Pakistan, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chairman Senate, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Provincial Governors and Chief Ministers, and Armed Forces Services Chiefs expressing their solidarity with the family during the tragic time. The political leadership of the country and large number of people hailing from the cross –section of society also commiserated with the Sharif family praying for eternal peace of the departed soul and the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss that had left unbridgeable gap void in their lives.

It was exceptionally a humble and humanitarian gesture of befitting proportion on the part of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and Co-Chairman Asef Ali Zardari, leaving far behind political differences, as they went to the residence of Nawaz Sharif on Sunday to personally condole the demise of his brave wife who expired after a protracted illness in London. Earlier, the Party leadership asked its two former Prime Ministers, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf,Syed Khurshid Shah, Punjab PPP President Qamar Zaman Kaira to represent the Party in the funeral prayer of the deceased. All of them were there to join the funeral prayer which were also joined by a large number of politicians of all shades including Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Sarwar, Jamait-e-Islami Liaqat Baloch and multitudes of the Party workers and the people as the ground was jam packed with the mourners.

Turkish President telephoned Nawaz Sharif to express his deepest sympathies whereas Turkish Foreign Minister in his recent visit to Pakistan also called on Nawaz Sharif to condole the passing away of his wife. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan and of the UAE, eminent member of Qatar Royal family and other members of the Diplomatic Corp were among the dignitaries who extended the condolences on their behalf and on the behalf of their respective governments.

She was a courageous woman who subdued General Pervez Musharraf’s ferocious dictatorship with her superb leadership qualities manifested in the form of rallying around the entire political leadership to successfully isolate Musharraf. The general who was already under lot of pressure, generated by the political leadership of the country, had to fight for his survival to perpetuate his rule. The political storm was looming large with every passing day and with that Musharraf’s vulnerability accordingly pushing him to seek a pathway out of the political labyrinth. At the same time, the foreign governments, particularly Saudi Arabia, were also actively persuading Musharraf to release Nawaz Sharif who was convicted by him in the plane hijacking case. The general had to reconcile in his desperation in countervailing the political storm that undoubtedly had the potential to upstage his rule without any chance of offering him an honorable exist. He therefore stuck a deal with Nawaz Family and allowed them to go to exile for the period of ten years.

Musharraf though succeeded in downgrading the political storm against him for the time being and the resultant longevity of his illegitimate rule. He also obliged the Saudi kingdom and other world leaders who were anxious to see Nawaz Sharif as a free man. The decision of Nawaz Sharif to go on exile leaving behind his party and workers at the mercy of dictators was not appreciated by many political analysts because he resultantly strengthened the hands of the dictator at the expense of the opposition and the movement for the restoration of democracy suffered as collateral damage. The other view held justified his abdication form the country politics for certain period of time while treading on the narrative of live to fight for another day. The public polemic was there but at present it was not appropriate to discuss such issues and therefore should be pushed to the periphery.

Going to exile Nawaz Sharif surely had given the lease of life to the Musharraf's rule and the people had to bear the brunt of his regressive rule for another many years. He eventually became unbearable liability for the country for which dynamic leadership of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto played leading role at the national and international level. He had to shed his second skin. The Shaheed Mohtrama, exceptionally a visionary and brave leader, demanded that Nawaz Sharif must come back to Pakistan and take part in national politics despite the fierce opposition of General Musharraf who used to boast that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif had no role to play in the country’s politics. The fate was ordained otherwise. Today, he is in exile as an absconder in the treason case for declaring emergency in the country and confining the judges of the Supreme Court at their residences. He may succeed to evade justice of country’s courts but will surely be condemned by the history like all other successive dictators as despots. History neither forgets nor forgives, the dictator must understand this moral. They are now generally known for the wrong reasons especially in the contemporary world.

Kulsoom Nawaz’s casket containing her body has been delivered to the earth after her ‘traveling to the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns’. She undoubtedly played a heroic leadership role in getting her family out of the jaws of dictator who was hellbound to eliminate Sharifs politically and economically. But, what man proposes God is there to dispose of with far reaching consequences that human limited agency cannot understand. Kulsoom Nawaz proved as a great equalizer who used to advocate building bridges than walls among the democratic forces to smash dictator and dictatorship so indispensible for the redemption of the country and the people. Her decency, good mannerism and sharp political insight were remarkable that came to surface when it was most needed to her family, in particular. Her demise has brought the political leadership closer to broader understanding that may be cherished because divided politicians are destined to lamentable denouements not only for them but also for the people.

muhammadshaheedi @yahoo.com