As in the heart of Okara, Maryam Nawaz stood to launch the electioneering of the PML-N on Monday, it reminded me of the 2018 elections, when she along with his father, Nawaz Sharif, was in jail.
They had taken flight from London to Lahore only to be put in jail. Those cases have gone now. But the trauma of the persecution may never vanish.
Maryam Nawaz’s speech was hilarious. With her Okara rally, the political winds of the country gathered strength once again. It was sight to see that Maryam Nawaz, the vocal daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, took the center stage. Her words, a clarion call, echoed through the air, cutting through the buzz of the crowd.
Whenever Maryam Nawaz speaks to a rally or addresses a press conference, she tries to say her point in a clearest way. That makes her a powerful speaker.
Without hiding behind anonymity, Maryam Nawaz directed her words at the opposing party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. Though she left their leader unnamed but she pointed to his actions that stood large in the public eye. “Your umpire was caught,” she thundered, alluding to allegations of electoral manipulation. The crowd roared back.
She boldly declared, “Forgery, facilitation, all exposed.” The once-mighty baton of authority, she claimed, has been replaced by the “billa,” symbolizing a gentler reminder of service and accountability.
When she speaks about facilitation, she means the tainted judges. Her supporters know her point of view.
Yet, Maryam’s attack went beyond a mere tally of grievances. It was a narrative carefully woven with threads of personal pain and national hope. The public sees the PML-N the party of power in waiting.
She painted a picture of her father, Nawaz Sharif, a figure both ostracized and idolized. Nawaz Sharif faced injustice with stoic resolve, weathering a storm of legal challenges.
“Nature has taken a suo moto notice,'” she said, referencing the legal issues that plagued Imran Khan tenure. “Cowardice, not courage, defines their escape.”
This was not just an indictment of her political adversaries; it was a message to the people—a plea to their sense of fairness and a yearning for stability.
“The bigger the tyrant, the bigger the coward,” she said referring to Imran Khan, framing the narrative as a clash between truth and deceit, resilience and capitulation.
Maryam Nawaz does not forget to give a sense of hope to her supporters.
The promises she made form a bridge between the past and the future—a vision of Okara roaring like a lion, symbolizing strength and defiance.
She pledged a commitment to form a government, led by Nawaz Sharif, under which affordable medicine will be provided to the public and the ailing economy will be revived.
The public trusts her words since the PML-N has a track record of good governance.
Education and infrastructure, Danish schools and hospitals, intricately woven into the fabric of every district. A promise extended to the women who stopped her on the road—a commitment to deliver gas to their doorsteps.
Yet, beneath the fiery speach, a mild message emerged from her speech — a call for unity, for putting aside the hatchet of revenge, and focusing on the betterment of Pakistan.
“No revenge in our hearts,” she declared, urging a shift from retribution to progress.
I am waiting to hear Maryam Nawaz’s speech in a Lahore rally too.
The Okara rally was not just a political spectacle; it was a snapshot of Pakistan’s current political landscape. Pakistani public is grappling with its past, looking for a brighter future, and searching for leaders who can bridge the chasm between rhetoric and reality.
Maryam Nawaz’s promises are not simply an election speech, every word of her speech shows a vision to the public.
One thing is certain: the echo of her voice will reverberate beyond the boundaries of Okara, serving as a reminder that the battle for Pakistan’s future is far from over.
