fter it overthrew the government of former prime minister Imran Khan through a historic no-confidence motion, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was asked to form the government with its allies including the Pakistan Peoples Party. Party supremo Nawaz Sharif, who was in exile in London, advised his younger brother to instead call a general election as soon as possible.

His younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, was, however, more than willing to become the prime minister of the Pakistan Democratic Movement regime. While the PDM government was taking the toughest economic decisions in the history of Pakistan to fetch some foreign aid, ousted prime minister Imran Khan took to the streets with talk of a conspiracy being hatched by the PDM, the army chief and the United States to remove him from office.

Imran Khan got the opportunity to hit the government and the establishment from several fronts. The economic measures the Shahbaz-led government had to take made the lives of the poor miserable. The prices of daily-use items jumped to new levels and the people started cursing the new government. Imran cashed in on the government actions and managed to sell his narrative well. His popularity rose to new heights at the cost of his political rivals, especially the PML-N. Imran Khan addressed public rallies mainly in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to cater to his vote bank in these provinces.

The entire blame for the economic conditions was borne by the PML-N as Shahbaz Sharif was heading the government as prime minister. Many party leaders were worried about the fast-declining popularity of the party. Nawaz Sharif has said since that he had advised his brother to dissolve the assembly a couple of months after the no-confidence motion and call general elections. “We gave sacrifices for the sake of the country,” he recently said. He is now trying to create an impression that Shahbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz are putting in their best efforts to stabilise the economy and the country is on the right track.

Nawaz Sharif is keeping mum on the political space lost to the establishment during his younger brother’s tenure. Freedom of expression has suffered like never before. The PML-N will have to share the blame for all the legislation its government has done to appease the establishment.

Despite government claims of improved economic conditions and relative stability in the prices of daily use commodities, people are yet to be convinced that prosperity is on the way. The lower middle income and salaried segments of the society feel burdened by the government which has doubled the cost of electricity. The grocery items too are pushing the common man to the wall.

The manipulations around the February 8 elections have added to the credibility deficit.

Some senior leaders of the PML-N have serious reservations about the way their party is running the affairs of the country. They believe that the decisions the party took in recent years to stay in power will leave a lasting impact on the fragile democracy in Pakistan.

“Our party is losing ground in the Punjab, where we have had a stronghold for over three decades. We are doomed as a party,” one of the leaders remarked in a private discussion. Another leader expressed utter disappointment over the current state of affairs saying, “We are doing everything half-heartedly. Our hands are tied. We can’t make our own decisions. We merely follow instructions of those who wield the real power.”

The decision to make Maryam Nawaz Punjab’s chief minister has also irked many party leaders who believe that the top leadership has missed an opportunity to expand the leadership pool. Many criticised the Sharifs when Hamza Sharif was made the Punjab chief minister. Many in the party are also unhappy at Maryam Nawaz being handed the top position in the largest province.

Results of the recent elections reflect the voter mindset, which in many areas rejected PML-N candidates. The party may be on course to become the most favoured political party of the establishment. However, this image could seriously damage the country’s political system. It is significant that since Imran Khan’s ouster, PML-N’s popularity has been declining.

The writer is a senior broadcast journalist. He has worked with several news channels in Pakistan