ISLAMABAD (TIP): The sequence of events that followed the disqualification of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif from office by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case has exposed a rift within the Sharif family and the ruling PML-N over the question of who will be the successor of the ousted premier.

The by-election for a National Assembly seat in Lahore, that fell vacant with Sharif becoming ineligible to remain a legislator, has brought in the open the split in the party between his daughter, Maryum, and his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who is currently the CM of Punjab.

Knowing the delicacy of the power struggle, Nawaz, after his ouster, had announced his younger brother to be his successor but to be a PM, Shahbaz had to be elected to the National Assembly. As a stop-gap measure, Shahid Abbasi was announced PM. Sharif also launched his daughter to be his unofficial political strategist and spokesperson while delaying the announcement of the name of the candidate who would contest the by-election.

PML-N veterans loyal to Shahbaz had privately said that it was just impossible that elder Sharif would bring his younger brother as PM. Ahead of announcing that his wife Kulsoom Nawaz would contest the by-election, it had almost become clear that Abbasi would remain a “permanent PM” till the next polls.

“By announcing Khaqan Abbasi first as the country’s interim PM and then permanent, Nawaz Sharif has successfully denied control of PML-N to his younger brother till next election in mid-2018,” said analyst Nusrat Javed.

Meanwhile, Nawaz picked Maryum to lead her mother’s election campaign, depriving his nephew, Hamza Shahbaz, from the job.

Nevertheless, Shahbaz and his son Hamza, have distanced themselves from campaigning of Kulsoom Nawaz. They are currently in London and will return once the election is over. While both father and son have refrained from expressing their grievances in public, ex-home minister and Shahbaz’s close friend, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, has been doing the job.

Nisar recently said Maryum could not be accepted as party leader. “Maryam should only be considered as the daughter of Nawaz Sharif,” he said, adding that Maryum had a long way to go in order to prove herself as a leader.

(PTI)