Sons get top jobs as Pakistan’s ‘elite’ families return to power
HAMZA SHARIF AND BILAWAL BHUTTO APPOINTMENTS PUT SPOTLIGHT ON DYNASTY POLITICS
THE son of Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, took charge of the politically important Punjab province last Saturday (30), further bolstering the dynasty’s grip on power.
Hamza Shehbaz Sharif took over as chief minister of Punjab – Pakistan’s richest, most populous and politically influential province – after weeks of deadlock.
However, the region’s governor and a loyalist of ousted prime minister Imran Khan refused to swear in the new chief, elected by the provincial assembly, forcing the Lahore high court to step in.
“Today a month-long political crisis in Punjab has come to an end,” Sharif, 47, told reporters after he was sworn in.
“I will seek guidance from the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and will take coalition partners into confidence.”
The Sharif family, including three-time prime minister Nawaz, the brother of the new prime minister, have been embroiled in countless corruption and money laundering allegations – and Hamza is no exception. The family deny the accusations and claim they are politically motivated.
The younger Sharif’s appointment as Punjab province’s chief minister comes days after Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari, was appointed as one of world’s youngest foreign ministers at the age of 33.
Bhutto, who is also the grandson of another former premier, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, said in a Twitter post he was “honoured” and humbled to take the oath as foreign minister. He and his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) “will play our part in restoring democracy, passing electoral reforms, fighting for a fairer economy & advocating Pakistan’s case on the world stage,” he wrote.
His grandfather also served as foreign minister in the mid-1960s and was the founder of the PPP that Bhutto now leads.
He became party leader aged just 19, while a student at Oxford University, following his mother’s killing in 2007.
The new foreign minister is considered a progressive, in his mother’s image, and has frequently spoken out on the rights of women and minorities. With more than half of Pakistan’s population aged 22 or below, Bhutto’s social media savvy is also a hit with the young, although he is frequently mocked for a poor command of Urdu, the national language.
Political commentators have mixed opinions on Bhutto’s abilities – or how long he can maintain good relations with premier Sharif, of the rival Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party.
“I believe he is an untested missile,” analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said. “It is too early for a young MP like Bilawal Bhutto... and it will be difficult for him to handle issues Pakistan faces, with serious challenges on external fronts.”
However, a fellow analyst, Farzana Bari, disagreed. “I think Bilawal is intelligent enough to hold the fort,” she said, adding he was “more progressive” than the leaders of other political parties.
Khan was voted in by an electorate weary of two-party dynasties in 2018 on a promise of sweeping away decades of entrenched corruption and cronyism.
But he struggled to maintain support with soaring inflation, a feeble rupee and crippling debt.
Since his ouster, Khan has taken to the streets and held massive rallies that have attract thousands in the hope of forcing an early election before the scheduled October 2023 poll.