Nawaz, Sindhi press
On Friday Mian Nawaz Sharif had his first encounter
with the major Sindhi print media. That those who called on him
represented all important provincial newspapers indicated the
interest evoked by the PML chief in Sindh. The questions raised
encompassed a wide area and some of them must have been
uncomfortable. On the whole he fielded them well.
The fact of Mian Nawaz drawing main support from Punjab has been
widely debated in the Sindhi media. Attempts were made initially by
a section of the nationalists to portray him as a leader who
represented the interests of Punjab. During the first tenure of the
PML-N, fears were expressed in Sindh that he might take measures
perceived by many to be against Sindh's vital interest, the foremost
being the construction of the Kalabagh Dam. The suspicions were
allayed to an extent when Mian Nawaz instead worked out a consensus
formula on water sharing in March 1991. His dismissal by first
Ghulam Ishaq Khan and then in a military coup further weakened the
stand of those who persisted in presenting him as a handmaiden of
the Punjabi establishment. The age-old suspicions have however
continued to lurk and political opponents have at times tried to
capitalise on them to isolate the PML-N. A few months back when he
was planning to visit Sindh, a propaganda campaign was launched that
that PML-N workers had desecrated the place in Rawalpindi where
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. One of the journalists on Friday
pointedly asked him why he had only targeted Sindhis like Mr Asif
Ali Zardari and retired judges, Sajjad Ali Shah and Abdul Hamid
Dogar. There were also questions about his stand on the Kalabagh Dam
and the role of the security agencies. Mian Nawaz made it clear that
while he was a Punjabi he did not stand for parochialism but
considered himself a Pakistani nationalist. Further, in order to
assuage Sindhis' fears he went to the extent of assuring them that
no big water reservoir would be constructed without prior consensus
among the provinces despite the dire need to go ahead with the
project. He also said that while he entertained strong reservations
about the government's failure to do away with the 17th amendment
and implement the CoD, he had no personal grudge against President
Zardari. What is more, while opting to remain out of the federal
government, he continued to support it as no single party could deal
with the momentous challenges being currently faced by the country.
He also maintained that if the agencies did not stop the games they
have been playing the country might break up.
The Nation: June 7, 2009 |
