Maryam Nawaz being groomed for political role

ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz’s meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was apparently part of the conscious efforts of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for her slow and steady but apt grooming for a likely future greater political role.

The pinnacle of such endeavours in the international circuit came in October when the first daughter had held a meeting with the US first lady, Michelle Obama who was accompanied by her mother and two daughters at the White House during the prime minister’s official visit to Washington.

It so happened that prime minister’s Washington visit was a success that dashed the hopes of his detractors. So was the Heart to Asia conference in the sense that Pakistan and India made a breakthrough by committing to start the comprehensive bilateral dialogue to discuss all outstanding issues including the core Kashmir dispute.

Although Maryam is not publicly known doing much in or for the government, she is engaged in a number of offstage activities including political affairs and media and information matters, knowledgeable Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) circles say.

What is in the public domain is her Twitter account where her posts carry comments on major political developments and other activities, reflecting the prime minister’s mind and policy.

It is stated that she was the first one, who staunchly stood for going for by-elections in Lahore and Lodhran instead ofseeking relief from the Supreme Court against the decisions of the election tribunals that had unseated the important PML-N winners.

Subsequently, the top PML-N leadership endorsed her idea after a discussion, which finally paid much dividends to the party as Sardar Ayaz Sadiq won in Lahore, marginalising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which had kept the ruling party under tremendous pressure for quite some time.

During the previous two stints of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister, Maryam had been in the background. By that time, maybe she had not matured enough for the grooming and ‘soft induction’ in politics.

However, when Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law and banished the Sharif clan, Maryam, at times, assisted her mother, Begum Kalsoom Nawaz, in the political field when the mother had led the excellent campaign against the military dictator. During that spell, Maryam’s occasional political comments had turned out to be incisive and insightful.

As Nawaz Sharif came to power for the third time in 2013, he ostensibly decided to officially involve his daughter in the government affairs, and for that purpose, made her honorary chairperson of his new loan scheme. However, she had to leave that position, expecting an adverse high court ruling.

Since word go, Nawaz Sharif has kept his two sons, Hussain and Hassan, far, far away from politics, and made them busy in running different businesses. During Musharraf’s era, they undertook their ventures in Saudi Arabia and Britain and continue to be preoccupied with them there. They are not known to be playing any role in the government affairs or the PML-N politics.

Even when the Sharif family faced unprecedented hard times, the two sons stayed away from politics. Only once, Hassan had given an interview to Tim Sebastian, the anchorperson of BBC programme Hard Talk, in which he had come out very well. Before and after that, he has not been heard in public. The host is known for firing sharp questions on his guests. Hassan had taken on Musharraf and presented the Sharif family’s side of the story.

While grooming Maryam, described by some as the heir apparent of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister has shown no hurry or haste. She is involved in a high profile activity only when such an occasion arises. He visited the United States and she also received an invitation from Michelle Obama for the meeting. Similarly, Sushma Swarag came to Pakistan to attend the Heart to Asia conference and a session was arranged between the two.

Maryam’s spouse, Capt. (R) Safdar, who is a member of the National Assembly from his native district of Mansehra, is in the background. At times, he had been in the political forefront. His low key role started after he had a serious spat with the senior PML-N leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that led to the suspension of his party membership, which was later restored.

On the other hand, Hamza is the only son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is playing an important role in politics. He has often been given charge of election campaigns for bye-polls. The other son, Salman, who has shown his guts more than once in TV programmes, is exclusively focusing on the family business. The chief minister’s daughters are away from politics or any other high profile activity.

At times, the future greater political roles of Maryam and Hamza are compared by some people as far as the PML-N is concerned. But it is also simultaneously stressed that since the Sharifs are closely knit family where the opinion of the patriarch (obviously Nawaz Sharif in this case) has the final word, the prime minister will ultimately decide when the circumstances will reach such a stage.