The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is trying to regain its "vote ko izzat do" (respect the vote) narrative before the next elections by attacking former generals. A key PML-N leader, Rana Sanaullah, admitted on Thursday that the party supported an extension for former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2020 to stop the threat posed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Sanaullah said that voting for Bajwa's extension was a "tactical move" to fight "fitna" (anarchy). He used this term to refer to Khan.
The Supreme Court suspended Khan's notification granting Bajwa an extension in 2019, but after much legal wrangling, the court allowed Bajwa to continue in office for six months.
In early 2020, parliament unanimously passed amendments to the Army Act that cemented the extension, with the PML-N being among the parties that voted for it.
Sanaullah's outburst against the former army chief is the second in as many days. On Wednesday, he had called Bajwa and former spy chief Faiz Hameed "national criminals" and demanded action against them.
Sanaullah also reinforced party supremo Nawaz Sharif's recent statement, seeking "strict accountability" of former generals and judges, saying that it was a policy statement on behalf of the party.
In an online address to party ticket holders in Lahore a few days ago, Sharif had said that former chief justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa were tools of Bajwa and Hameed. He said that their crime was bigger than murder and that pardoning them would be an injustice to the nation.
However, on the same day, Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz had tried to walk back some of her father's comments by saying that "neither he nor she believed in taking revenge".
Sources told Dawn that Sharif had told PML-N leaders to adopt "an aggressive stance" against Bajwa, Hameed, and some former and incumbent judges.
Meanwhile, a PML-N leader from the Shehbaz Sharif camp said that after Nawaz Sharif's outburst, some quarters advised the party not to take an extreme position on the matter.
The leader said that Shehbaz Sharif, who left for London on Wednesday, might talk to his brother and convince him to dilute his tone. He said that Shehbaz Sharif has never uttered a word against Bajwa since he assumed the prime minister's office and even after leaving the position, showing how careful he is in such matters.
Summary:
The PML-N is attacking former generals in an attempt to regain its "vote ko izzat do" narrative before the next elections. A key PML-N leader, Rana Sanaullah, has admitted that the party supported an extension for former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2020 to stop the threat posed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has also called for "strict accountability" of former generals and judges. However, his daughter Maryam Nawaz has tried to walk back some of his comments.
Some quarters within the PML-N are advising the party not to take an extreme position on this issue. Shehbaz Sharif, who is considered to be more moderate than his brother Nawaz Sharif, may try to convince him to dilute his tone.
