Asghar A Mubarak
There is no denying the fact that the entire social media, despite political differences, reflects the truth that every woman in Pakistan has been imitating the style and dress of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and is now championing women’s rights as a woman chief minister. The struggle of Punjab is an example for other provincial governments, Maryam Nawaz is a name, an example and a role model in service politics in Pakistan who are engaged in the development of Punjab. Maryam Nawaz has emerged as a successful politician as the Chief Minister of Punjab and has all the qualities to be the future Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is trying to provide facilities to the people and other governments should follow her policies which are the wishes of the people.
It may be remembered that the first 150 days of the Punjab government are nearing completion while Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is one for Pakistani politicians as Punjab is providing facilities to common people in all sectors.
Whenever we read the newspaper with our breakfast, we are happy to know about the progress of the Punjab government in its efforts to provide daily facilities to the people, even as the Chief Minister of Punjab is facing a lot of difficulties politically. It should be remembered that the people of Punjab are very happy with the performance of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, in the public survey of the Institute of Public Opinion Research (IPOR), the performance of Maryam Nawaz as Chief Minister of Punjab for 100 days was presented.
The 55% of the people who participated in the survey described the performance of the Punjab government as satisfactory, 60% believe that Maryam Nawaz’s popularity has increased in the last 3 months, 53% believe that the Punjab government has increased the prices of food items. The measures taken to reduce the cost of bread proved to be effective.
According to 44 percent, the reduction in the price of bread is a good step of the Punjab government, the provision of solar panels and mobile hospitals projects were also well received by the people, the leadership of Punjab was appreciated by the people.
The performance of Maryam Nawaz Sharif is appreciated by 40% of the population in rural areas of Punjab and 62% in urban areas. It should be remembered that Maryam Nawaz Sharif is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is lucky because she has a very talented team under the leadership of President PML-N Mian Nawaz Sharif who himself takes interest in the country’s national and international issues.
Maryam actively incorporate more women and individuals from marginalized communities into the government, particularly those emerging from impoverished backgrounds.
In this regards her commitment to inclusivity not only manifest in the formation of her administration but also resonate within her policies.
It should be remembered that the first priority of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is to prioritize the needs of the poor sections of Punjab, it is important that her leadership crosses this milestone.
The Punjab Assembly has made history by electing Maryam Nawaz Sharif as the first woman Chief Minister. Maryam Nawaz won the election of the Chief Minister after getting the support of 220 MPAs in the Punjab Provincial Assembly.
Maryam, the daughter of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, has so far received a positive response from the people in her province. While many welcome her to a position that has historically been occupied by male politicians, some see the political challenges she faces as formidable.
As a woman chief minister, the expectations placed on Maryam alone are not unduly high.
Of course, there is nothing surprising about the selection of Maryam as the Chief Minister, but Buzdar, the former chief minister of the PTI era, was very low in terms of performance. It is also a fact that the standard set for male chief ministers is not that high across Pakistan.
Maryam has her own identity, she united the party in a crisis when male politicians were not active even Nawaz Sharif’s family was in dire straits due to fake cases.
But she alone fought for justice and achieved the goals, in this regard PMLN politicians should be grateful.
It should be remembered that the establishment of a government in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, was actually a major goal of the Muslim League (N), which arose out of intense political clashes between the Muslim League-N and the PTI for power in Punjab. The assembly was dissolved on January 22, 2023 after PTI’s demand for immediate elections. It should be remembered that Maryam Nawaz Sharif won from PP 159 Lahore by getting 23 thousand 598 votes. Her closest competitor was independent candidate Meher Sharafat, who got 21,491 votes. She was one of the 313 newly elected representatives – including 201 from the PML-N and 98 from the Sunni Etihad Council – who won the provincial elections on 23 February 2024. He was sworn in as a member of Punjab Assembly. Maryam Nawaz Sharif is leading such a provincial assembly.
Where PTI has always opposed his provincial legislative matters and where PPP’s Syed Ali Haider Ghlani is playing the role of parliamentary leader.
Immediately after the elections, on February 8, 2024, Maryam Nawaz Sharif pledged to start a new era of development in Punjab during the parliamentary session of the Muslim League-N.
137 MPAs elected on the ticket of Muslim League (N), 22 independent and reserved seats joined by Muslim League (N) and 54 candidates of Muslim League (N) participated in this meeting.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed her determination that Punjab will be developed on all fronts, especially health, education and IT sectors. Maryam promised to reintroduce health cards for free treatment of the poor and ensure heart, kidney and liver treatment in all major hospitals.
Moreover, Maryam Nawaz Sharif had expressed her determination to establish five IT cities in Punjab, with the aim of promoting technological development and economic development in the province of Punjab and now she is implementing it one by one on a daily basis which shows her commitment.
It is a clear challenge for Maryam to not only manage the bureaucracy and reach out to her constituencies despite severe financial constraints, but also try to win back the PML-N voters.
It should be remembered that the government of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is facing a major challenge with regard to the long-standing problem of blasphemy and religious extremism in Punjab, which has persisted for the past 30 years.
A strong policy is needed to deal with misuse of religion for personal interests in the province.
It should be noted that Maryam has been facing direct challenges as a courageous woman. Past governments ignored issues like transgender and violence against women and now it is Maryam’s responsibility to work towards their empowerment. Similarly, other challenges in which the land mafia is spreading in Punjab, the land mafia is occupying government properties including graveyards such as the railway graveyard in Rawalpindi and the claim of the land mafia to be affiliated with the local leadership of the PMLN which is not good for the newly elected Punjab government.
Farmers are hard workers but they are striving for rights. The leadership of Muslim League (N) should consider this matter. The first priority of the leadership of Muslim League (N) should be to meet the needs of the poor sections of Punjab.
It is important that the PML-N leadership crosses this milestone.
