News Analysis |
The deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a press conference today in Punjab House Islamabad. The apparent purpose of the press conference was to condemn US President Donald Trump’s tweet but he summed up his criticism by calling the Tweet ‘non-serious’ and ‘irresponsible’. He also said that it is inappropriate for the head of a state to address another state in this manner, and that he shouldn’t have used twitter as the medium.
After his short criticism of Trump’s Tweet, he moved on to more ‘pressing issues’. Addressing the military dictator General Pervaiz Musharraf, he said that if there had been a democratic government in Pakistan in 2001, they would not have sold the ego and self-respect of the nation. He said that we have been fighting a 17-year-long war that was not our own.
Inner sources of PML-N report that Nawaz assured the Saudi authorities that he wanted to send the military to Yemen but the army wasn’t ready for it.
It appeared that Nawaz Sharif reiterated the accusation of Trump’s Tweet by asking the nation to reflect that why does the world think negatively about us. Instead of condemning Trump’s Tweet and acknowledging the efforts and sacrifices of our nation, Nawaz wants us to pay heed to the allegations and mend our ways. He also said that he has not directly addressed the issues and not specified them either and his opinions have been criticized in the name of Dawn leaks.
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Nawaz ostensibly compared Trump’s Tweet to Dawn leaks and openly condoned the latter. In a way, he justified what Trump said, apathetically ignoring the countless sacrifices made by the nation in the war against terror. PTI leader Umar Asad, two days ago on Twitter, made a similar comparison between Dawn leaks and Trump’s Tweet; he said that Trump simply repeated the contents of Dawn leaks.
ٹرمپ کا جواب تو دے دیا لیکن حقیقت یہ ہے کہ اس کا بیان وہی بیانیہ دہرا رہا ہے جو dawn leaks کا ہے۔ اندر کے دشمن باہر سے ذیادہ خطرناک ہیں
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) January 1, 2018
Nawaz also warned the nation that if we keep on ignoring the allegations, it would be self-deception and Pakistan was divided into two parts because of this self-deception. He also said that if we want other countries to stop attacking us then we must become self-accountable. The deposed PM called 2018 an election year and criticizing the establishment, he said that our election history has been unfortunate, elections are either rigged or they are not accepted when honest. He also showed remorse that people’s mandate is either dictated or it’s made a mockery.
Nawaz also warned the nation that if we keep on ignoring the allegations, it would be self-deception and Pakistan was divided into two parts because of this self-deception.
Claiming that the vote bank of his party PML-N was bigger than all the parties’ combined, he declared that the fate of this country lies in a clean election in which every party should be given equal opportunity to participate. He ended his speech by threatening that he will reveal evidence, if back-door maneuvering does not stop.
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It is interesting to note that Nawaz read from a prepared speech and he left without answering any questions from the media. Did he fear that the media would ask questions about his recent visit to Saudi Arabia? Or about his alleged links to Trump’s Tweet? Or did the writer of his speech advise him not to take any questions afterwards?
According to various news sources, Nawaz Sharif hired a lobbyist firm named ‘Roberti Global’ to lobby for his interests in Washington. Roberti Global is a very powerful lobbyist firm, headed by Vin Roberti and recently media personnel have also claimed that they have hired the services of former ambassador Hussain Haqqani. It is speculated that Trump’s Tweet was actually made on the request of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was lobbied by Roberti Global so we can speculate that Trump made that Tweet to help Nawaz Sharif.
Claiming that the vote bank of his party PML-N was bigger than all the parties’ combined, he declared that the fate of this country lies in a clean election in which every party should be given equal opportunity to participate.
The purpose of hiring a lobbyist firm in Washington by Nawaz is apparently to pressurize the military and establishment in Pakistan. So far, the effects of lobbying seem to be working in Nawaz’s favor. Trump’s Tweet has put immense pressure on Pakistan and strained the relationship between the two countries.
Read more: Pakistan reacts to Trump by summoning US ambassador for explanation
Nawaz does not want to go down without a fight. The recent trip to Saudi Arabia was also a move to gain foreign support. Inner sources of PML-N report that Nawaz assured the Saudi authorities that he wanted to send the military to Yemen but the army wasn’t ready for it. Nawaz appears to be gaining support by these moves because after the NAB proceeding earlier today, no details of the proceeding came out, the media only recorded the speech and the press report.