A Liberal Nawaz Sharif
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN

Soon after he was elected as Prime Minister, he proposed the fifteenth amendment in the constitution which went through the then National Assembly without any delay. After all, he had seized an overwhelming majority in the parliament winning 137 of the 207 seats less than a year ago.

The amendment, to say the least, was controversial, if not downright execrable. It had spurred a backlash from the liberal factions of the society. Among them some called him the “Ameer ul momineen” while others proclaimed him as the “power hungry civil martial administrator.” Nonetheless, he cared less about the “hate mongering secular liberals”. I will let you decide if the critics were justified to rail against him. In its article 239 2B, the amendment said:

“The Holy Qur'an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) shall be the supreme law of Pakistan. Explanation: In the application of this clause to the personal law of any Muslim sect, the expression 'Qur'an and Sunnah' shall mean the Qur'an and Sunnah as interpreted by that sect.”

Not only that, it also proposed: “The Federal Government shall be under an obligation to take steps to enforce the Shariah, to establish salat, to administer zakat, to promote amr bil ma'roof and nahi anil munkar (to prescribe what is right and to forbid what is wrong), to eradicate corruption at all levels and to provide substantial socio-economic justice, in accordance with the principles of Islam, as laid down in the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.”

Trust me, had he held the same majority in the Senate, where his party held a minority position, the “Shariat Bill” would have become the part of our constitution. And had it become the part of our constitution, he might have implemented all the rules and regulations that Saudi Arabia had put into practice: the flogging of the criminals, the cutting of their hands, the beheadings, the most inhuman violation of women rights.

He grew impatient and annoyed as he could not get the proposal passed by the Upper House. In public rallies, he said the Senate had “no right” to block the amendment. And addressing the people of Swat, he expressed his frustration again: "If the senators vote against the bill, you punish them. You must force them to vote in favor of the bill.” However, the more annoyed he got, the stronger the opposition grew.

Sure, the main voice against the bill rose from the Sunni majority of the country, including some of the religious parties. But it was the non-Muslim minority who got mostly troubled by it. They thought his mandate was not to impose the Sharia. Instead, it was to eradicate corruption and to bring transparency in the government. Never did he mention the Islamic rule in his campaign. He bragged about the economy, trade, motorway project and low interest loans for the poor. That was why he got the votes, not to convert Pakistan into Saudi Arabia. What has he doing in regards to corruption since he was sworn in? Nothing. All he had accomplished in one year was to clash with the judiciary, the army and the political parties in the opposition.

That was Mian Nawaz Sharif then, who emerged as the most powerful politician after the elections of 1997, only to lose his popularity and his position in a coup detat by General Musharraf in less than three years. Reason? In that short period, he had done everything to consolidate his power and almost nothing to improve the economy.

Now let us hear the same Mian Nawaz Sharif in 2015.

“ Every community living here whether Hindu, Muslim or Parsi, everyone belongs to me and I belong to them. I am prime minister of all communities,” he said to the crowd on the occasion of Diwali.

Not stopping at that, and asking the organizers to invite him on all the religious events and even spray paint at him on the upcoming Holi, he added: “ It’s my duty to help and facilitate you. If you are in distress, I will stand with you. Even if a Muslim commits an injustice, I will stand with the victim.”

Have you heard of a U-Turn? By any standard, this is what is called a U-Turn. From a person who insisted on imposing the Sharia Law following the footsteps of his military patron General Zia ul Haq to the one who claims “the future of the nation lies in a liberal and Democratic Pakistan.”

Throughout his political career, if he has ignored to attract one group of people, it is no one other than the Pakistani liberals, a vocal group of urban middle class, people with higher education, professional positions, and many a time foreign exposure. In response, they considered him dumb, uncouth, and corrupt especially when they compared him to Benazir Bhutto, the sophisticated Western. Some even considered him to be a true yet hidden ally of the Taliban and the banned religious organizations. But now, for the first time, he is inching towards them, distancing himself from the right wing religious organizations.

To be honest Imran Khan had the opportunity to lure the liberals. He was financially clean and had the charisma to pull them. But he called them “the scum of earth,” and tilted too much towards Jamaat e Islami and the Taliban who aim to implement today the Sharia that Mian Nawaz Sharif did a couple of decades ago.

I am not sure what will happen to Imran’s politics and how much he would imbibe the right wing national rhetoric. But I reckon Nawaz will sooner or later capture the votes of Pakistan’s center left.