Home

Home

A frank chat with Shahbaz Sharif

By Shahid Malik

The province of Punjab is known to have been radically turned towards a new direction by Shahbaz Sharif during his tenure as chief minister in the

Muslim league (N) Government. He established such a high and unprecedented  

standard of public service that his example has now become a difficult benchmark to equal. That is his greatest achievement.

Some even refer to him as the TARZAN of Pakistani politics, this is not only

because he is young, dynamic and handsome but also because he has the rare talent to do more and speak less. He stands quiet alone as a politician who has something concrete to show for his short period in a position of authority. 

When a deal of sorts was struck between General Musharraf and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Shabaz was forced into exile along with Mian Nawaz Sharif….this was no doubt planned to ease the Muslim league (N) split. Offers made by The Generals to entice Shahbaz to abandon his elder brother have consistently failed. Nor has any offer that compromised either the constitution of Pakistan or Muslim League (N) been acceptable to the Sharifs.  

I first met Shahbaz Sharif last year in Jeddah during my meeting with Mian Nawaz Sharif. Although I had read a lot about him and was intrigued by his personality, meeting him personally was a totally different experience, but time was short.So, last week, on my way to New York en-route Orlando to sign some contracts, I decided to contact Shahbaz Sharif and see if we could meet again. I left a few messages but did not get any response, so I gave up the

idea.With almost the whole day free in New York I telephoned Shah Rukh Khan who is shooting his new movie there. He said he was at location and suggested we meet for a late lunch. I was looking forward to find out more about the great Bollywood star.

Suddenly I thought, "why not try once more to get through to Shahbaz Sharif". I phoned and sure enough this time Shahbaz Sharif answered. I introduced myself and asked if he would see me for a few minutes, "Oh yes he said join me for lunch". Now I had a choice, a lunch offer from a Lahori and a Bombay-ite, the decision was not difficult……..Lahore won hands down.

My Friend Payar Ali Jaffer had come to fetch me from the Airport, but when he heard my immediate plans; he screamed that his wife had cooked lunch at home and we could not dare let her down. 

My Dear Friend PAYAR Ali was getting annoyed, and here I had a chance to meet Shahbaz Sharif.  So I pacified Piyar Ali by offering to convince his wife to arrange dinner instead of lunch, if he drove me to Shahbaz Sharifs Apartment. I also promised him a meeting with Shahrukh Khan who is Piyar Ali’s hero. 

Payar Ali is from East Africa and has no clue about Pakistan, therefore he did not know who Shahbaz Sharif was and so any attempt at explaining the importance of the meeting was futile. 

Anyhow at last we arrived at the place where Shahbaz Sharif is recuperating after his recent operation. We disembarked at the high-rise building in a sleepy suburb of New York and found our way to the Apartment.          

         A view from Shahbaz Sharif,s Apartment

I rang the bell, moments later Shahbaz Sharif opened the door himself and welcomed us in. I was surprised to see no servants in the one bedroom apartment (a far cry from Lahore’s lifestyle) it was simple but elegant and had the ambiance of a home rather than a rented flat. The laptop was attached to a printer, and it was apparent that Shahbaz Sharif had been working on it. 

Payar Ali was very pleased to meet Shahbaz Sharif as he now recognized him from newspapers and TV programs. He was even more pleased to see that he was computer savvy; that being Payar Ali’s line of business. Before we knew, Shahbaz Sharif and Payar Ali were talking about computers, printers and the Internet neither paid attention to my rather sleek Tablet PC. 

Within minutes Payar Ali threw the gauntlet and offered to sell a new Laptop to Shahbaz Sharif, who laughed and admired his guest’s talent to make a quick sale.

Finally when they saw my Tablet PC, all of a sudden the money spent on it was worth while. 

As Shahbaz Sharif looked rather fit and a lot slimmer than when I had met him last, I did not want to talk about the serious surgery he had just recently undergone. He had come out looking radiant. 

His personality was still impressive, but he was not prepared to talk about politics until after lunch, which was brought in from the world famous KASHMIR Restaurant of New York by Mr.Shaheen Butt himself. As I was starving I was happy to eat first.

 Shahbaz Sharif heated everything in the microwave and laid the food on the table himself, nor would he allow us to assist. "When you come to a Lahori house you just sit down and enjoy the hospitality," he said, and enjoy it we did. The food was out of this world. Kebabs, Nans, Tandoori Roti and Gheeyaa Ghosht (the best I have ever eaten) I am still licking my fingers at the thought. 

During lunch the phone rang often. Mian Nawaz Sharif also telephoned; the two brothers had a long conversation and seemed closer than ever before. It was clear that Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif are not about to grow apart. 

I asked Shahbaz Sharif how he felt about his wife and daughters being deported from Pakistan.He said, "these are the daughters of Pakistan. No mother throws her own daughters out of her lap. I cannot comprehend what the Generals gained by dealing with a woman and her children so harshly, This is not the way of a Muslim nation".  He seemed more upset at the negative media coverage the event had brought to Pakistan than anything else. 

If I was in Shahbaz Sharif’s place I would be cursing the Faujis but he did not curse them at all. In fact, he worried about the effects of such a case i.e. citizens deported from their own homeland.

"If acts like this are accepted even once they become precedents; the apolitical families of politicians, i.e. Pakistan’s public servants, a huge community, is now susceptible and exposed to the same threat." 

This brought me to the subject of Pakistan wasting more than 85 percent of their GDP on weapons and arms and how we can afford to spend this amount on the armed forces.

Shahbaz Sharif did not think it was so simple a question and said that

defense spending is something Pakistan cannot curb until she can create, and sustain a friendship with India. I tried to draw him to the wastage of

resources and corruption within the armed forces, but Shahbaz Sharif said he did not think that corruption was the core issue or problem in the Pakistani armed services. Nor did he believe that resource wastage was any more than in political and bureaucratic institutions. "We are not at war with our own armed forces; we cannot condemn the institution that protects our

boundaries. The problem we need to address is their adherence and obedience to the constitution vis a vis democracy." 

I asked if his party returned to power would it look for revenge and retribution? 

"But we are not a revengeful people. At least I for one don’t have the time for revenge. There is no time to lose. The past is history. Yes we need to learn lessons from history so that we do not repeat our mistakes, but we must resist the trap of revenge and retribution and put all our energy, time and effort into moving forward towards a healthy future. If our nation lives in the past we will not catch up with the rest of the world." 

So, I asked if he would forgive the Army for what they did to his Party and his Family?

Shahbaz Sharif said, "Allah is the forgiver of all. We hope and pray that He keeps us on the right path and gives us an opportunity to serve our country in the most committed and selfless manner. What we need to talk about is a new vision for our country, a vision that serves and improves the future of the masses. In order to make Pakistan a safe and secure place for the

generations to come, revenge must be ruled out as a negative detour from our immediate priorities." 

Suppose circumstance change in Pakistan, how do you envisage an exit strategy for the Army? I asked. 

Shahbaz Sharif remained adamant that the 1973 constitution must be restored before an exit strategy could be drawn. "There is room to maneuver an exit under the 1973 constitution, similarly more safe guards must be built in the constitution so that the Army does not return to politics". 

He was resolute that,"This goes hand in hand with eradicating corruption in politics and within all other national institutions." 

He felt that the causes for our mess were clear, at least to him. "Our nation has three lethal enemies, i.e. corruption, corruption and corruption. At the same time we need three friends to make our nation stronger and they are; Education, Education and Education. We need to alleviate poverty by applying more rigorous and stringent measures to help the poor in our society. We need to provide more resources to the field of IT, and create more jobs within industries; but all this can be accomplished only if we get rid of corruption. 

I told Shahbaz Sharif how the people of Lahore admired his qualities as an

administrator and how openly people wanted him to return even if he had to

compromise with the army. At the same time people were generally saying that even though Nawaz Sharif is the Leader of PMLN, he did not prove to be a good administrator. Hence in the larger interest of Pakistan would he

consider going alone on a compromise? He did not really answer my question, however, he said that Nawaz Sharif is my leader and let us not forget that it was under Mian Nawaz’s government that I was chief minister. If I did well, the credit of choice in selecting a good administrator for Punjab must at least be given to him." He reminded.

He said,nothing is greater than the interest of Pakistan, and no sacrifice was too big when it came to one’s motherland

I was in Lahore back in April and heard people talk about Shahbaz Sharif, s

achievements and how he changed the face of Lahore from a dust dwelling city into a modern clean and safe city. I wondered if Shahbaz could and would do the same for Pakistan…………………………………… I am sure he will………anyone who did so much for Lahore has my vote…………my vote of confidence, just like Shahbaz Sharif said,

"Give our people confidence, respect, resources, some hope and breathing space and these people will perform miracles. That is where their prosperity lies." 

"Give them dignity and they will create a dignified nation." He said. On the question of meeting Pakistani’s in New York he said,"We are Pakistanis hence our love for our peers is not out of need but out of the love of our motherland, therefore anyone seeking my time and attention is important for me. As Pakistanis we are all duty bound to be concerned for each other and our land……..Just as there is no bigger love than that of a mother, there is no bigger love of a land than a motherland.