NA-123 by-election Saga
Nawaz Sharif will not contest to help out Zardari
Thursday, February 04, 2010
By Tariq Butt

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif has told his party leaders that he has delayed his election to the National Assembly to save President Asif Ali Zardari from the tremendous pressure that his presence in parliament would bring on him, leading to the collapse of the government.

“More than once, a heated internal debate was held in the party to discuss Nawaz Sharif’s candidature to contest the by-election for NA-123, Lahore, in which the PML-N Quaid consistently insisted that his landing in the National Assembly and playing of his role in a forceful way would paralyse the government that he did not want to do,” a participant told The News on condition of anonymity.

Nawaz Sharif told his party colleagues that when he would be present in the National Assembly, he would have to speak on vital issues in a hard-hitting manner or he would earn flak from public circles.

This, he said, would build a colossal pressure on the government, which has no guts, fortitude or resilience to withstand the force of his attack. Ultimately, a state of paralysis would hit the government that he did not want, he said.

The PML-N chief said that pressure would also mount on him to take on the government in an aggressive way that he wanted to avoid. He said he would also be compelled to move on for a change.

Nawaz Sharif said that in no way he wanted to precipitate the process of a possible exit of the government. He also did not wish to be a part of any move that hastens the mid-term parliamentary elections.

The participant said that Nawaz Sharif told the party that any massive destabilisation would only bring a boon for the enemies of Pakistan, who have besieged it, and enhance the dangers to the country, which was already gripped by a grave situation.

The PML-N chief said although he had taken a conscious decision not to rock the boat, the government continues to mess up because of its blunders, misgovernance and misrule. He said his decision not to contest the by-poll was meant to spare the government any extraordinary embarrassment at his hands inside the National Assembly or “I know the present set-up can’t brook even a short-lived powerful campaign by me”.

However, Nawaz Sharif’s detractors believe that he decided not to vie for his native Lahore seat merely to honour his deal with Saudi Arabia, signed in December 2000, to be away from the parliamentary politics for 10 years.

When contacted, PML-N Spokesman Senator Pervez Rashid said that the theory about the 10-year ban on the Sharif family to take part in politics stood demolished for a number of times. He said Shahbaz Sharif had not only contested the 2008 general elections but also became the chief minister of the Punjab. Had Nawaz Sharif not been disqualified in 2007, he too would have fought for the Lahore seat. Then again, this so-called restriction was knocked down when Shahbaz Sharif returned to Pakistan but was deported from the airport on May 16, 2004 and Nawaz Sharif did so on Sept 10, 2007, he said. “It is a vicious propaganda that a 10-year ban exists for Nawaz Sharif or he has made any commitment to anybody about this,” Pervez Rashid said.

He said the forced bar imposed on Nawaz Sharif by Pervez Musharraf became irrelevant after the former president was ousted and became history. Since Musharraf is not on the political scene in any respectable position, it is frivolous to speak about any ban on the PML-N chief, he added.

Last time, the by-election for NA-123 was scheduled for June 30, 2009, but the Election Commission had to defer it indefinitely after the Punjab government wrote a letter to it, citing intelligence reports that suicide bombers are on the loose in major cities and the by-poll could not be held.

Initially, Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers were rejected in December 2007 that he had filed to fight for NA-120 Lahore in the general elections, then scheduled for January 8, 2008. He refused to challenge their rejection before the election tribunal (comprising Lahore High Court or LHC justices), saying he would not seek any relief from the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) judges. The rescheduled general elections were held on Feb 18 and Nawaz Sharif’s covering candidate, Bilal Yasin, won from NA-120.