India-Pakistan ties, as seen by Nawaz Sharif

More than any other political figure in Pakistan, the mantle of advocating a minimally stable relationship has fallen on the former PM

- TCA Raghavan

Former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif's recent statements harking back to how he and his party were drummed out of power by a military-judiciary combine attracted some attention. This was because they seemed to be going against the current trend of the military and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) led by Nawaz Sharif acting in tandem to secure a favourable outcome to the 2024 general elections in February. In essence, the one thing both the Pakistan army and Nawaz Sharif have been most in agreement about is the necessity of keeping Imran Khan out.

It is also interesting that such statements appear to garner much more attention in India than in Pakistan itself. Why is this? One view is that the Pakistan media is tightly controlled and discordant views are filtered out. But since the Pakistan media reports freely on many issues, those areas where the mainstream media finds it prudent not to go are often adequately addressed on social media platforms. Perhaps, the reason could also be that we in India, seeing things from a distance, focus sharply on the central dynamic of civil-military tension and conflict. For at least a quarter of a century, Nawaz Sharif has personified this dynamic through three tenures as PM - each being prematurely terminated through old-fashioned military coups or military-judicial conspiracies.