Ex-PM’s plans to install wife opposed
Ruling party’s candidate for byelection
• The former prime minister of Pakistan has raised fears of instability in the country by planning to install his politically inexperienced wife in the parliamentary seat f rom which he was recently disqualified.
Nawaz Sharif will nominate Kulsoom Nawaz, his spouse of 47 years, as the ruling party’s candidate to fill the vacant NA-120 seat in Lahore, according to local media reports.
“Kulsoom’s nomination is desperate,” a spokesman for the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek- e- Insaf, told The Daily Telegraph. “It will be foiled by voters in the constituency.” Sharif won the constituency with a majority of 40,000 votes in 2013.
Kulsoom Nawaz has not previously held political office. Although she led a campaign against the imprisonment of Sharif in 1999, after a military coup, as first lady she has largely kept silent. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) says that Sharif is also considering his daughter as a candidate.
KULSOOM’S NOMINATION IS DESPERATE. IT WILL BE FOILED.
Previously seen as Sharif ’s political heir, Maryam Nawaz, 43, has gained exposure handling communications in the prime minister’s office and through her personal Twitter account, which has 3.4 million followers. However, she faces a trial over allegations she assisted her father in l aundering money to buy four flats in Park Lane, London, allegations that she and the family deny.
Sharif ’ s reported plan would rip up a previous agreement designed to keep peace in the PML- N, whereby his brother would have shuffled i nto the vacant seat, and from there swiftly into the role of prime minister.
Wednesday, Sharif is set to drive in a “cavalcade” from Islamabad, the capital, to his hometown of Lahore, where the 67- year- old will address a large rally of supporters. He is expected to develop his claim that a conspiracy led by the army was behind his disqualification after a trial linked to revelations in the Panama Papers.
Sharif ’s attempt to retain control of the country via his wife is unlikely to please Pakistan’s military, which has long objected to his desire to improve relations with India.
On Monday night, a bomb exploded along Sharif ’ s planned route, injuring 24 people.