Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN) President Shehbaz Sharif’s car was stopped by some people near Kahna area in Lahore on Wednesday evening and people protested in front of his car. Journalist Waqar Satti believes this kind of protests is condemnable.
Talking on Naya Daur TV’s flagship show Khabar Say Aagay (Beyond the Headlines), Waqar Satti said that such protests could lead to something more dangerous as well and it was evidence of the polarisation in the society today.
Senior journalist Mubasher Bukhari, while agreeing with Satti, argued that the area where the incident took place was once considered PMLN’s stronghold but the way people there reportedly behaved with Shehbaz Sharif indicated that they are extremely unhappy with Shehbaz Sharif-led government’s performance.
Commenting on the reports that a group within the PMLN had warned party supremo Nawaz Sharif against returning to Pakistan, Waqar Satti said that Nawaz Sharif’s narrative had been diluted by his brother Shehbaz Sharif who has repeatedly stated that the three-time prime minister was coming to Pakistan to fix the state of economy, not hold his tormentors accountable.
Bukhari added that sources close to Nawaz Sharif confirmed that he had been advised by some members of the party to avoid coming to Pakistan but he wasn’t ready to heed such advice.
“In my view PMLN doesn’t really have an option. Nawaz Sharif is party’s only hope and the PMLN supremo also understand this,” Bukhari said.
Satti agreed with Bukhari and added that even anti-establishment narrative will have to be adopted because other than targeting people who allegedly orchestrated Nawaz Sharif’s ousted from power, the former PM didn’t really have much to tell his supporters.
Raza Rumi hosts Beyond the Headlines Monday to Saturday 9 PM on Naya Daur TV.