Nawaz Sherif, 63, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan on Wednesday. President Asif Ali Sardari administered the oath of office at a ceremony which was boycotted by Pakistan Peoples’ Party leaders and Tehreek-e-Insaf led by Imran Khan, the cricketer turned politician. This is the third time Nawaz Sherif is sworn in as Prime Minister, first in 1993, then in 1997 and now 2013. It is a history of sorts.
A mountain of tasks awaits Nawaz Sherif and in the capacity as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Will he be able to overcome the seemingly insurmountable tasks one by one is the billion dollar question staring on the face of Mr.Nawaz Sherif.
First and formost task awaiting his interference is the threat posed by the hard-core extremists which are determined to go hammer and tongs going for the jugular of a country already reeling under multiple threats. This bane of militancy has not only upset the social and political equilibrium of the nation which is spilling over to the neighbouring countries of India and Afghanistan, the latter already reeling under this menace, to be precise, for the last 12 years, have not tasted the fruit of peace and harmony thanks to the war launched against the country by US after the historic bombardment of the twin towers of World Trade Centre allegedly by Al-Quaeda elements headed by the late Osama Bin Laden and Aymen Al-Zawahiri. Millions perished, properties and historical monuments destroyed - even before US unleashed the ten year old consistent onslaught by the then ruling regime of Taliban. Millions displaced, too many of them went missing. Now that Tehreek-E-Taliban, the dreaded terror-outfit operating from the soil of Pakistan have made it a hobby of sorts to effect maximum destruction, one by one with their declared objective of forcing the foreign countries, here America, India and allies of US.
Nawaz Sherif in order to wipe out the menace of terror outfits in other words to uproot these poisonous trees will have to launch a sustained battle which is easier said than done. If he is determined to fight this fissiparous elements come what may, a gradual elimination of the terrorist hydra tightening its grip around the country would be possible, no doubt.
Another crisis which badly invites his care and attention is the blackouts widespread across the nation. Reports of 20 hours black outs mean the nation is ‘groping’ in the dark and we wonder whether Pakistan citizens do have regular peaceful sleeps. True, in the midst of thunderous bomb explosions across the streets of the country perpetrated by terror elements – who are the friends of darkness – even otherwise Pakistanis might not be experiencing sound sleeps. And their quest for a dispensation which could bring about power, peace and jobs, if taken care of has landed in the lap of Nawaz Sherif the third time though not consecutively. The disheartening, disappointing and disillusioning fact is that some of the militant outfits are hand-in-gloves with the army and its intelligence wings Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). Army’s grip over the nation dates back to decades, put it mildly, from the very outset the country attained freedom in 1947, August 14.
Unemployment is at its peak and Nawaz Sherif has already come to grips with the mounting menace and let’s hope he would plunge into taking care of the problems of youth right from the outset.
Pakistan’s women, lakhs of them are still confined like caged birds are pulling on under miserable conditions. Women empowerment is a need awaiting the incumbent Prime Minister’s immediate attention.
On the external front what Prime Minister‘s attention has centered is the occasional drone attacks launched by US across the Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Province where anti-US an ‘anti-everything’ elements have made safe havens. It is not surprising that while allocating portfolios Sherif has kept with himself the Foreign and Defence Portfolios.
Baluchistan issue is going to be a hot potato in the hands of Nawaz Sherif and the earlier he attended the issue, the better.
India awaits with handful hopes to establish a warm friendly relationship with the incumbent Prime Minister and the desire was already conveyed to him on phone by Dr.ManMohan Singh, Indian Prime Minister. The closer these two countries work together towards settling a slew of problems between each nations, the warmer the relationship would emerge. And if Nawaz Sherif too goes into the footsteps of the regimes which were voted out and ousted from power, here I mean the military situation will turn out to be one of occasional confrontions, if not ongoing skirmishes along the line of actual control.
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