Political: Will Maryam Nawaz be able to become the daughter of nation?
Much of what Maryam Nawaz has achieved so far is a fight for her father’s right, but as the first woman chief minister takes oath, she can no longer be just her father’s daughter, so will Maryam Nawaz become the daughter of the nation?
‘I will prove that I am my father’s strength, not his weakness’, this statement was given by Maryam Nawaz in July 2017 when she recorded her statement to the joint investigation team investigating the Sharif family’s foreign business dealings. She came out of the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA).
On this occasion, she looked calm, while her profoundly speaking eyes held more power than her words. For the past several months, Maryam Nawaz and her family have been in the grip of corruption allegations, as a result of which she had to spend a short time in jail, while her father and the head of the Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif was forced into another self-imposed exile. But all this matter had to come to an end.
When Maryam Nawaz’s brief speech ended that day in the federal capital, she emerged as a major force in the changing political landscape of Pakistan and the whole world witnessed this scene.
A Journey to Political Ascension
Perhaps this was the first step of Maryam Nawaz in the political field of the country. During the 2013 elections, he actively participated in the election campaign of the party and also headed the social media wing of the Muslim League (N) during and after the elections.
In 2014, Maryam Nawaz was made the Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program but a year later, her appointment was challenged in the Lahore High Court, forcing her to resign.
Later she was also seen distributing laptops to students on behalf of the Punjab government even though she did not hold any elected office in the province or the center at that time.
In 2016, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif underwent open heart surgery, neither the Prime Minister’s House nor the Ministry of Information could control the biggest news of that time and speculations in this regard. In such a situation, Maryam Nawaz came forward and became the center of attention of the media.
She continues to provide regular updates on her father’s health to the public through her Twitter (X) account.
From deciding on the surgery to tweeting the first photo of the prime minister post-surgery, Maryam Nawaz’s Twitter feed provided minute-by-minute details on how long the prime minister would spend in the intensive care unit as well as her plans to return home.
Active in the political field
By all accounts, Maryam Nawaz’s first real test of electoral politics came in September 2017 when she campaigned for the NA-120 by-elections. This seat was vacant after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif in the Panama case.
Maryam Nawaz campaigned for her ailing mother Kulsoom Nawaz, who also managed to win the seat, but the Muslim League-N’s margin of victory was significantly reduced.
Political pundits debated whether it was actually a PML-N victory, but this was a constituency where the PML-N and the Sharif family had a clear influence for nearly three decades.
Journalist Zahid Hussain wrote in this regard, “It was inconceivable that he could have been defeated here.”
However, that was the moment for Maryam Nawaz when she made her move and declared herself the heir to Nawaz Sharif’s political empire.
Zahid Hussain wrote that it is a positive change to have her in charge of a party with conservative social values that has very few women in senior party and cabinet positions.
But being the daughter of a party chief definitely makes a big difference in the culture of family politics.”
The journey was many times more difficult than she had imagined and Maryam Nawaz will admit it. In an interview with Voice of America’s Iram Abbasi, Maryam Nawaz spoke about how women who were in the limelight or in the public eye, especially women who played important roles, faced harsher criticism than their male counterparts.
He said that ‘if a woman has created her own ideals, principles, ideology, belief, values and she wants to make a place for herself, then she will always be looked at with suspicion’.
He added that despite the resistance from within the party ranks, he was “pleasantly surprised” at the way Pakistani people were accepting him.
Criticism was faced
As she became the center of attention, she also faced inappropriate comments regarding her age and clothes.
Most of the backlash came from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters’ social media accounts who commented on her expensive luxury clothes and other attire while also discussing that she did not look her age.
Even her preparation for her son Junaid Safdar’s wedding was heavily criticized by social media users, with some even saying that she ‘ruined’ her daughter-in-law’s day by over-dressing for her age.
However, it was not only his political opponents who stood against him. After the removal of Nawaz Sharif from power, Maryam Nawaz became the face of her party which was anti-establishment and she took account of the injustices done to her father.
Even earlier, it was suspected that he was the one who leaked the story about the government’s clash with top military officers to counter the military’s interference in politics. This rivalry was not well seen by some of the senior leadership of the party.
One of them was former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who said that Maryam Nawaz needed to ‘prove herself’.
Finally, the differences between the Shehbaz Sharif group and the Maryam Nawaz group came to the fore.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Even those who were not averse to anti-establishment rhetoric were not too happy about the way their father had handed over the reins of the party to Maryam Nawaz. Thus began the tussle, but as far as family politics are concerned, blood prevails over merit.
Cracks soon appeared in the party, the most prominent of which was former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who said he resigned from the party ‘within an hour’ of Maryam Nawaz’s promotion to the post of senior vice president and chief organizer.
After that, the other big name was Miftah Ismail, who received instructions from Maryam Nawaz on Twitter and had been a victim of the fight between the two factions before. He was dismissed and Ishaq Dar was given the post of Finance Minister.
Perhaps the biggest loss in all this happened to Maryam Nawaz’s cousin Hamza Shehbaz, who was considered the successor of the Sharif brothers until now.
Suddenly, the PML-N got another option in the form of the alluring Maryam Nawaz to take on its nemesis, the PTI. By doing so, the PML-N hoped that the new face would help improve its image, which had been tarnished by Imran Khan’s constant political maneuvers.
But that didn’t happen as Maryam Nawaz was soon surrounded by the alleged ownership of several offshore assets, including the infamous London flats.
What will happen next?
Despite internal strife and criticism, Maryam Nawaz defended her father’s traditional politics less as the party’s vice-president.
In doing so, she became anti-establishment, calling out in front of her workers at rallies the names of judges and generals who wronged her father.
Maryam Nawaz has carefully built her political persona over the years while keeping firebrand leaders like Maryam Aurangzeb with her who will soon occupy key positions in the party.
Much of what Maryam Nawaz has achieved so far is her fight for her father’s right, but with the swearing in of the first woman chief minister, she can no longer be just her father’s daughter.
Rather, they are responsible for the administration of the country’s most populous and, in other respects, most powerful province.
In her speech in the provincial assembly yesterday, she said, ‘I want to tell the opposition (which was not present at that time) that if you are facing any problem in your constituency, I will be available to you like a Muslim.
It will be for the Member of Provincial Assembly of League (N). Because I am no longer the chief minister of Muslim League (N) but the representative of 12 crore people.
Maryam Nawaz’s journey from being seen as a symbol of family privilege to becoming a leader in her own right echoes a truth that transcends politics, and that is that real power is not just about inheritance, but about oneself. Create your own political identity.
Also read this: Why is Imran Khan the Leader Every Time in Public Court?
