Shakespearean tragedy in the house of Sharifs

Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif? 

Maryam Nawaz or Hamza Shahbaz? 

The in-house fighting for the throne of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) is not a secret anymore. Calls to hand over the reins of the ruling party to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif are growing within the party. 

First, it was PML-N MNA Sultan Mahmood Hinjra, of Kot Addu, who while addressing a public rally in the city, all in the presence of Shahbaz Sharif, demanded that Nawaz Sharif step down from the party office and pass on the throne to his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif. When he finished the speech, Shahbaz Sharif showed his annoyance to him at the stage. Mr Hinjra maintains that whatever he had spoken up was planned and Shahbaz Sharif knew very well of his speech. 

Later on, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Pirzada used a better platform – the Islamabad National Press Club – and demanded the change of guards in the top office of the party. His words attracted the attention of the mainstream media. Soon, a meeting of MPAs in Lahore became the talk of the town, where, according to of one of the participants, provincial minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, the matter of the party leadership was discussed.

Insiders say that the two brothers have the difference of opinion on how to cope with the post-Panama case verdict situation. 

Nawaz Sharif and his children have been indicted in graft cases and face an uncertain future, whereas Shahbaz Sharif and his family are relatively in calmer waters at the moment, for there is no case going on against them. Wounded Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz have indicated, though not so clearly, taken up a confrontation with the state institutions, Supreme Court, 

and the army, to be precise. 

Shahbaz Sharif, along with former federal minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, supports reconciliatory approach.

Reconciliation or not, Shahbaz Sharif also feels deceived as he was first tipped for the prime minister office after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif but only to be dropped within days. Later, he was also not considered for the PML-N top office. Over the time, Maryam Nawaz has made her entry into active politics and now she is considered the potential successor of Nawaz Sharif. Hamza Sharif has rebelled and aired his concerns about the rise of Maryam Nawaz.

The Shakespearean style in-house fighting poses questions for the Sharif family and the PML-N.

First, the Sharif family should ask themselves: Is it the war between Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif or Hamza Shahbaz and Maryam Nawaz? Once they find the bone of contention, the family can sit and talk out the terms to reach a settlement.

Second, PML-N leaders should ask themselves and each other: how to keep the party intact in case the House of Sharif breaks into factions, as is the history of every Muslim League.

Only, the time will decide the fate of the party, which represents Pakistan’s urban middle class. Faced with graft cases, and in-house fighting, the party seems to have a bleak future. The disintegration of an established political party is always a great loss to democracy. In the case of the PML-N, a party without any political ideology, its breakup may not be an immediate loss to the political foundations of the country. 

We should, however, be ready for the chaos that may ensue in central and north Punjab.