Opposition attacks Sharif plot to hand wife his seat in parliament
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 from 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”. Mr 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 Mr Sharif in 1999, after a military coup, as first lady she has largely kept silent. The Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) says that Mr Sharif is also considering his daughter as a candidate.
Previously seen as Mr Sharif ’s political heir, Maryam, 43, has gained exposure handling communications in the prime minister’s office and through her personal Twitter account, which has 3.4m followers. However, she faces a trial over allegations she assisted her father in laundering money to buy four flats in Park Lane, London, allegations that she and the family deny.
Mr Sharif ’s reported plan would rip up a previous agreement designed to keep peace in the PML-N, whereby his brother would have shuffled into the vacant seat, and from there swiftly into the role of prime minister.
Today, Mr Sharif is set to drive in a “cavalcade” from Islamabad, the capital, to his home town 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.
Mr 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 Mr Sharif ’s planned route, injuring 24 people.