ISLAMABAD - Regardless of the outcome of legal battles the ‘House of Sharifs’ has been entangled in the Panama Leaks case, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday exhibited an extraordinary confidence by appearing before the Joint Investigating Team (JIT).

Many believed this step by the Prime Minister Sharif who had offered himself for accountability over the Panama probe helped him further elevate his political stature. And, this too with the condition that he would make political gains in 2018 general elections if he ensures the trial of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

Prime Minister Sharif made his maiden appearance yesterday before the JIT probing the Sharif family’s offshore properties in line with the apex court’s April 20 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

In his post-JIT appearance media talk, he rejected allegations of corruption from the public exchequer, saying this investigation is relating to his family-owned assets. He said the cases filed against him and his family are politically motivated.

Referring to ‘a bigger JIT’ next year, the premier also rejected the impression that the party would hold the general elections before next year.

Senior leaders of the ruling PML-N believed that Prime Minister Sharif would not step down and would wait till the final verdict of the apex court which had narrated the political role of the ‘House of Sharifs’ with a character of French novel the Godfather and later Sicilian mafia.

They are of the view that Prime Minister Sharif enjoys special political advantages while he holds the office as he would have a key role in the formation of interim government to conduct the next general elections. So is the case with his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Leaders in the ruling coalition also blamed the United States for the ongoing sorry state of affairs of the ‘House of Sharifs’ largely for his political relations with China and allowing former army chief General (Retd) Raheel Sharif for taking over the command of the Saudi-led Islamic Military Coalition (IMC) which, according to them, are against Washington’s international and regional interests.

There could be some weight to this opinion which is largely based on the changing geopolitical situation in the region as Pakistan, which remained a key partner of the United States over the years, has distanced itself from Washington and joined hands with Beijing and eventually become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

As regards the domestic political implications, observers say Nawaz Sharif’s decision to offer himself and his family for a thorough accountability is part of the political strategy of his ruling coalition.

They believed that Prime Minister Sharif is confident to get a clean chit through rigours of the judicial process and would emerge victorious in the end. Since this is a premature analysis, hence it solely depends on the kind of ruling is to be eventually handed down to him and his family members by the apex court.

There are other interesting political speculations whirling around the capital city that the traditional ruling troika comprising the Executive, the Judiciary and the Defence Establishment of the country has been upset because of the Panama corruption scam in which 142 Pakistanis, including the Prime Minister and his family, have been named for concealing their assets through offshore businesses.

So the judicial process revolves around the Prime Minister’s family and for this PML-N arch political rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan who has accused Prime Minister and his family of looting the public money.

Interestingly, Imran Khan himself is facing a legal battle for allegedly concealing the party funds he had received from overseas for making the country a ‘New Pakistan’. Legal brains are of the view that he is also facing a similar threat of disqualification like the Prime Minister Sharif is facing in the Panama Papers scam.

Based on this hypothesis, leading analysts tossing around the minus two formula according to which both heads of their respective political parties, including the PML-N and PTI, would lose massive political ground to a third party - the Pakistan People Party (PPP) - in the next elections.

This hypothesis stems from the situation in case the apex court hands down adverse rulings against Prime Minister Sharif and Imran Khan.

Backers of this notion believed that both the rival players - the PML-N and PTI - would lose massive political support when they turned out to be headless entities.

 

 

A really strategic move