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PRESUMABLY, Nawaz Sharif picked the tiger as an electoral symbol for his party because of its strength and speed.
Sadly, however, the stuffed toy animal of PML-N rallies has shown more gumption and guile than our prime minister. Close to two years after receiving a resounding mandate, Nawaz Sharif has been exposed for what he truly is: a toothless tiger.
A harsh verdict, perhaps, and one I do not deliver lightly. But the fact is that approaching the halfway mark of his tenure, the PM continues to stumble from one ineptly handled crisis to the next. And to make matters worse, most of these problems are of his own making.
Take the ongoing fuel shortage as an example. The unending ‘circular debt’ has been building up for a long time, and the current crisis has been heading towards Pakistan with the inevitability of a train running on schedule. And yet, the PM and his key ministers, Ishaq Dar and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, claim to be surprised, and continue to blame each other for the mess.
While Nawaz Sharif struggles to comprehend the nature and dimension of the problem, the other Sharif sails serenely above this maelstrom. Recently, Gen Raheel Sharif returned after two high-profile trips to the US and the UK, appearing statesmanlike and meeting key leaders and officials. Nawaz Sharif, on the other hand, went to Saudi Arabia; but for him, this counts as a trip from the staff quarters to the master’s mansion.
Imran Khan is the other thorn in the PM’s side, threatening short-term damage as well as electoral haemorrhage in 2018. Although squeezed between the army and Imran Khan, it is Nawaz Sharif’s ineptitude that has proved to be his undoing. With a leadership style that resembles a seth’s more than a corporate manager’s, he has surrounded himself with family members, a couple of intimate friends and a few trusted bureaucrats.
Nobody in his party can pierce this inner circle to get through to the supremo. The result is gridlock in Islamabad as handpicked advisers sit on files the PM has no time to look at. Thus, the promise of good governance has been sent to an early grave.
The PM has been exposed for what he truly is.
The truth is that Nawaz Sharif is far better at campaigning than he is at running the country. When millions voted for him, they thought they were electing an effective can-do manager who had built up a successful industrial empire. But as Ayaz Amir reminded us in a recent column, the reality is that the Sharif fortune was created through his access to state financing and bureaucratic support, not through any entrepreneurial genius.
The body language and facial expression say it all. In most photos, the prime minister appears ill at ease. In one posed picture with the army chief, Nawaz Sharif was shown looking away with a hangdog expression while the general appeared self-confident and benign. It seemed that a schoolboy had been brought before the headmaster for a dressing down.
Although he owes his political career to generals, Nawaz Sharif seems to have forgotten the underlying reality of power in Pakistan. When he launched initiatives that were bound to be unpopular with the army, he neglected to cover his flank and take Gen Raheel Sharif on board. Improving ties with India, although a laudable objective, was always going to run into resistance from GHQ.
And trying a former army chief for treason was bound to ruffle khaki feathers. By spending so much political capital on a quixotic quest to convict Musharraf, Nawaz Sharif has permanently soured relations with the military. His foot-dragging over the fight against the Taliban has not helped matters. The last straw was provided by the PM’s public support for Geo TV in its suicidal fight with the ISI.
But ultimately, it is not Nawaz Sharif’s bruising bouts with the military, but his own political and managerial failings that have defeated him. Had he delivered on even half his electoral promises, he would not be in his present predicament.
By dodging Imran Khan’s request for a recount in four constituencies, he has unleashed a season of protests and escalating demands. Now, he is facing a fight to retain his hold on Punjab — and hence Pakistan.
All these stumbles have taken place despite the fact that he faces virtually no opposition in parliament after the boycott/resignation of the PTI members. The PPP and MQM are a friendly opposition, and are unlikely to rock the boat. And during the first six months of his term at least, Nawaz Sharif enjoyed a honeymoon with most of the media.
While the army is very much in control of the areas of foreign policy it deems to be of core importance, one reason it will avoid taking power directly is the economic and political turmoil the country is going through. Why should Raheel Sharif risk taking the flak when he is getting all the bouquets?
Published in Dawn January 24th , 2015
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