- Distractions and gimmickries
The PTI government continues to try to divert public attention from its failures by creating ever new distractions. As people underwent the torture of rising prices, the PM continued to repeat the mantra of “No NRO” to any opposition leader. Forced to allow Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for treatment on the advice of the government’s own medical team, the PM was left red faced. Despite more than a yearlong media trial and six months in confinement, former President Zardari too was granted bail. Then one after another prominent PML-N leaders were bailed out by courts, adding to the embarrassment of an already speechless PTI administration.
As people continue to groan under the burden of economic miseries, heightened by continuously rising unemployment, the PTI has come up with another gimmick. SAPM Firdous Ashiq Awan has announced that the government is seeking the extradition of former PM Nawaz Sharif from UK. According to her the former PM faced no life-threatening ailment and had in fact gone abroad in pursuit of personal and family business interests. She accused a section of the media of running a campaign to influence public opinion by building an impression that Mr Sharif was critically ill. Earlier last week, Punjab government had refused to extend bail to Mr Sharif declaring that it had found no “legal, moral or medical ground” necessitating an extension. The hollowness of the claim was borne out by Punjab Health Minister Yasmeen Rashid who told newsmen on Sunday that Nawaz Sharif’s medical reports were authentic and not issued under any influence.
There is a need on the part of the government to reconsider the decision to seek Mr Sharif’s repatriation. Being under treatment in London, he poses no immediate threat to the PTI administration. Brought back as a sick man and confined to jail, with daily reports of his declining health broadcast by the PML-N, he could become a rallying point for his party in particular and the opposition in general. Many among PTI’s allies would refuse to take responsibility in case of any mishap. What’s more, if the British government declined to accept the request for Mr Sharif’s deportation, the government will have an egg on its face.
