Maryam Nawaz acquittal: How much will the Sharif family's internal politics be affected

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday overturned the convictions of PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif and retired Captain Safdar in the Avenfield reference and acquitted them. The ban has also been lifted.

After nearly four and a half years, the disqualification of Maryam Nawaz has not only brought an overall political benefit to the Muslim League but also the political heirs of Nawaz Sharif have become stronger in the internal politics of the Sharif family.

According to experts, after the acquittal of Maryam Nawaz, the chances of her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, returning home have also increased and Maryam's already strong position in the family has now become more stable.

After being acquitted by the court, Maryam Nawaz can now contest the national and provincial assembly elections and by winning, the ministry and the prime ministership.

Political opponents have been making unsuccessful predictions of Shah's exit from PML-N for a long time, but so far the family has never let the differences of opinion turn into political differences, rather Maryam Nawaz was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court. Soon after, Siddhi reached the Prime Minister's House to meet his uncle and both of them congratulated each other in an emotional manner and also fed him sweets.

 Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif seem to have an ideal relationship and even a few days ago, Shehbaz Sharif returned to London with his elder brother to formulate a political strategy. And at the same time brought back his proposed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on his plane.

However, despite all this, some political pundits believe that there is a conflict of political inheritance going on in the two families and Shahbaz Sharif has prepared his son Hamza Shahbaz as a political heir while Nawaz Sharif has trained Maryam Nawaz as his political heir. 

Talking to Urdu News from Lahore, journalist and analyst Salman Ghani, who has a close eye on the politics of the Sharif family, said that he has known this family for the last 40 years, on the basis of which he can say that Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif may have differences of opinion on issues, but there cannot be differences.

He said that it is not a matter of N (Nawaz Sharif) and Sh (Shahbaz Sharif) because everyone accepts the decision of N.

Salman Ghani said that even after Thursday's court decision, Maryam Nawaz has gone to her uncle. Eastern traditions are very strong within this family. After the death of his father, Shahbaz Sharif considers his elder brother his father.

Talking about the role of Maryam Nawaz in the party, he said that if Maryam Nawaz had not come out after the 2018 elections, the party would not have been able to stand. He became the voice of the party and led the movement manfully.

According to Salman Ghani, after the acquittal, Maryam Nawaz's political stature will increase further because she will become active in parliamentary politics as well. Comparing Hamza Shehbaz and Maryam, he said that the field belongs to the one who plays a role in the field.

'The family faces a big challenge in the form of Imran Khan.

He said that Maryam Nawaz is the political heir of Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the party, while Hamza Shehbaz is the political heir of the current prime minister. There is no antagonism between the two now because both of them are facing a common challenge which is the popularity of Imran Khan.

According to Mazhar Abbas, 'When the next elections are held and the Muslim League-Nawaz is in a position to form a government, then political antagonism can be seen.'

Mazhar Abbas said that after today's decision, I think Maryam Nawaz will be seen doing politics openly, and if Nawaz Sharif's politics does not advance after the general elections, then Maryam Nawaz can also get the presidency of Muslim League-N.