‘Carve her own legacy’: Challenges ahead as Maryam Nawaz Sharif takes over reign of key Pakistani province 

Short Url
Updated 27 February 2024
Follow

‘Carve her own legacy’: Challenges ahead as Maryam Nawaz Sharif takes over reign of key Pakistani province 

  • Maryam is fourth member of Sharif clan to become CM of Punjab, Pakistan’s politically most important province
  • 2024 general election was first time Maryam contested polls, has not held a prominent elected office before

ISLAMABAD: As Maryam Nawaz Sharif, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, made history this week by becoming the country’s first woman chief minister, political rivals decried nepotism while analysts said she had “her work cut out for her” governing the country’s most politically important province of Punjab. 

Maryam secured 220 votes in Monday’s election for the chief minister of Punjab, which accounts for 53 percent of Pakistan’s 241 million population and contributes 60 percent of its $350 billion GDP. Her opponent Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan could not secure a single vote as the opposition Sunni Ittehad Council party backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan boycotted the proceedings, saying the Feb. 8 general election was rigged. 

Elections earlier this month were the first time Maryam contested polls, representing her father’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This is also the first time she will hold an elected public office, and that too in Punjab, the heartland of Pakistan military, political and industrial elite, a difficult terrain to manage even for the most experienced politicians. 

But Punjab is also the home province of the Sharif family, and Maryam is expected to have guidance from veterans in her family, not least her father, a three time former prime minister, and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif who has been Punjab CM multiple times in the past and is set to become prime minister for a second time this week. Her cousin Hamza Shehbaz, the younger Sharif’s son, has also served as CM of the province. 

Aftab, her opponent, said Maryam’s appointment was “yet another case of nepotism as her family is known for picking relatives and friends to top positions whenever it comes into power.”

But Maryam thanked God during the appointment ceremony and promised she would equally serve those who voted for her and those who didn’t. 

“The doors of my heart and office will remain open for the opposition as well,” she said.

Several commentators welcomed the appointment of a woman as CM, a significant milestone over seven decades after Pakistan’s creation. 

“We have the first woman chief minister of Punjab, which in itself is an achievement for someone who comes from a conservative family background and a male-dominated and traditional political party,” commentator Mehmal Sarfraz told Arab News. 

“There’s no doubt that being Nawaz Sharif’s daughter helped her but it can only help her so much. Now she has to prove her leadership skills, and carve out her own legacy.”

POLITICAL CAREER

Prior to entering politics, Maryam was involved with the Sharif family’s philanthropic organizations and served as the chairperson of the Sharif Trust, Sharif Medical City, and Sharif Education Institutes. She formally joined politics in 2012 when she was put in charge of the PML-N’s election campaign ahead of 2013 general elections, which the party won, propelling her father to the prime minister’s office for the third time.

After the elections, she was appointed the Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, a position from which she resigned in 2014 after her appointment was criticized by political rival Imran Khan over nepotism and her university degree was challenged in the Lahore High Court.

She became more politically active in 2017 after her father was disqualified from the PM’s office and convicted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in relation to corruption revelations in the Panama Papers. She campaigned for her mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, during by-elections for Sharif’s vacant seat in the NA-120 constituency in Lahore.

Maryam was herself convicted by an anti-graft court in 2018 and got seven years in jail in a corruption abetment case involving the purchase of high-end apartments in London. Her father was also sentenced to 10 years in prison in the case for not being able to disclose a known source of income for buying the properties. She was also disqualified from contesting in 2018 elections as convicted felons cannot run for office under Pakistani law.

Maryam was acquitted in the case in September 2022, months after Imran Khan was ousted from the PM’s office in a parliamentary vote of no confidence and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif became premier.

Maryam became increasingly involved in politics during her father’s four-year self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom and in 2019 was appointed vice president of the PML-N, leading significant anti-government rallies throughout the country and fiercely denouncing then-PM Khan, his PTI party and the military and judiciary for colluding to oust her father from the PM’s office.

On 3 January 2023, Maryam was appointed senior vice president of the PML-N, making her one of the party’s most senior leaders. She ran for two seats in the Feb. 8 general elections, for the National Assembly seat from NA-119 Lahore-III and for a seat of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from PP-159 Lahore-XV. She won both seats and was nominated by her party as the candidate for Punjab CM.

“She has been through the grind and now coming to governance I think that she has come in prepared, which is evident from her speech,” journalist and talk show host Munizae Jahangir said. 

“She has already had her meetings with the bureaucrats and she has a work plan, a blueprint of a work plan of what she is going to do in the five years which she unveiled today.”

Among notable promises in her speech, Maryam vowed to transform Punjab into an economic hub, work on youth upliftment, launch free ambulances and medicine delivery, ensure school transport and make women’s safety, education and employment a priority. She said women’s harassment was a “red line” and announced that a “special package” was in the works for the transgender community.

“Now whether she walks the talk is something that we will have to wait and see but by and large her speech has been extremely good,” Jahangir said. “She has touched upon all the issues that plague not just Punjab but also Pakistan and seems to have her work cut out for her.”

Sarfraz agreed.

“Her roadmap seems like an ambitious plan so let’s see how she moves forward with it but it was good to see for a change that there was talk of reconciliation and not revenge, which has become a norm in our politics,” the commentator said. 

“The best thing about her speech was that she made it a point to highlight that being a woman was a strength and not a weakness. She talked about her experience as a mother, daughter, working woman and how harassment is a red line for her. This needed to be said.”

Dismissing Maryam’s lack of parliamentary experience, Sarfraz said a lot of the criticism against the politician was gendered:

“She gets more hate because she is a woman who has an aggressive style of politics. We don’t talk much about this angle of how our sexist and misogynist society hates an ambitious, opinionated and strong woman.”

DYNASTIC POLITICS

Maryam’s appointment was largely expected following the Feb. 8 parliamentary elections in which her father’s PML-N emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly, or lower house of the parliament, and in the Punjab Assembly.

The PML-N, which was initially trailing candidates representing Khan’s supporters — the former cricket player turned politician was barred from running — emerged last Friday as the largest single winner in the election after receiving 24 additional seats — 20 from out of the 60 seats reserved for women, as well as four seats out of 10 reserved for minorities. Nine independent members have also joined the PML-N.

The party is now heading into a coalition with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz, on a firm path to becoming the next prime minister, his second term in office. Khan’s party has rejected the election results, alleging widespread rigging. 

The Sharifs are one of the top two families that have dominated Pakistani politics for decades, the second being the Bhuttos of Sindh. 

“I have never thought that dynastic politics is a problem because I believe that whoever the voters want to vote for they should be allowed to, you can’t ban people just because they are somebody’s children or somebody’s father,” Jahangir said. 

“In this case it was very clear that she was a contender for the CM slot and I don’t think that she is that inexperienced … she had considerable experience in politics in opposition really and I think that opposition is when you really do have the tough time of doing politics in a place like Pakistan.”

But political analyst Dr. Huma Baqai said Maryam’s biggest challenge would be “credibility” and proving herself to the public.

“Political turmoil is not over in Pakistan. The fact that election results are not accepted on the ground by a huge section of the population will remain an issue [for Maryam]. There will be issues of credibility,” she said, describing the new CM’s roadmap as “the absolute pie in the sky promises of a person who does not have the experience.”

Dr. Hassan Askari, a longtime observer of Punjab politics, agreed that Maryam faced many challenges ahead. 

“She has presented a massive, a big-scale and very ambitious agenda,” the professor said. “That requires a lot of resources, virtually every aspect of administration has been covered. So, how do you mobilize resources for such an ambitious agenda?”

Jahangir, however, believed Maryam’s biggest challenge would be working with the all-powerful military, which has directly ruled Pakistan for almost half its history and is seen as the invisible guiding hand of politics even when not in power. 

In the run-up to elections too, widespread concerns were raised by independent analysts, activists and politicians of the military’s growing political power and its engineering of the pre-polling phase to keep Khan out of politics. The military denies it interferes in politics.

“I think the challenges for any politician in Pakistan is the military,” Jahangir said, “whether they will allow the politicians to run the province the way they want, whether they will be interfering in the running of the province. I think that is the real question.”


Pakistan calls on US, UK to urge India to come for dialogue at neutral location

Updated 49 min 38 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan calls on US, UK to urge India to come for dialogue at neutral location

  • After brokering May 10 ceasefire, US had said Pakistan and India had agreed “to talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site”
  • Weeks after worst military confrontation in decades, India and Pakistan have dispatched top lawmakers to press their cases in US, UK

ISLAMABAD: The head of an official delegation visiting London to present Islamabad’s position following a recent military standoff with New Delhi said on Tuesday the United States and the United Kingdom should encourage India to come for dialogue at a neutral location.

Weeks after their worst military confrontation in decades, India and Pakistan dispatched top lawmakers to press their cases in the United States, where President Donald Trump has shown eagerness for diplomacy between them. The Pakistan delegation is currently in London in the next stop of its mission and will go onwards to Brussels.

Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists on the Indian-administered part of Kashmir in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the scenic region that has seen a long-running insurgency and is disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947. India accused Pakistan of backing the assailants — which it denies — and launched strikes on Pakistani territory.

More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides for around four days before the US and other allies brokered a ceasefire on May 10. US secretary of state Marco Rubio also said at the time the two nations had agreed “to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.” He did not specify when the talks would take place or where.

“As part of our achieving this ceasefire, it was agreed at the time that going forward, we would have a dialogue at a neutral location, covering all friction points,” said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the head of the Pakistani delegation and the scion of the political Bhutto dynasty.

Bhutto Zardari, who was speaking to BBC Radio, said it seemed from recent statements by Indian leaders and actions of the government in New Delhi that they were not in favor of pursuing talks.

“We still believe that the United States and other allies can engage with India as a friend and explain to them that these decisions are not in their interest,” he said. “Similarly, here in the United Kingdom, you have a long history with India and Pakistan. [Disputed] Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of the partition [of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947] and forms the root cause of our conflict.

“Your [UK] government too is well-placed to speak to the Indian government as a friend and explain to them that refusing to engage with their neighbor, for two nuclear-armed countries to have no dispute resolution mechanism, is not in anybody’s interest.”

Separately, Bhutto Zardari led Pakistan’s delegation in a discussion with the Financial Times Editorial Board in London.

“We reaffirmed Pakistan’s abiding commitment to peace, emphasizing that dialogue, not domination, remains the only sustainable path forward with India,” the leader wrote on X.

“Expressed grave concern over the erosion of strategic stability: India’s violations of the Indus Waters Treaty, the weaponization of water, and the dangerous descent toward conflict in a nuclearized region, a trajectory that threatens to condemn future generations to perpetual insecurity.”

 


Pakistan announces income tax relief for salaried class in FY2025-26 budget

Updated 26 min 13 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan announces income tax relief for salaried class in FY2025-26 budget

  • Tax rate for those earning between $2,128–$4,255 annually to be cut from 5% to 2.5%
  • Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains below 10%, among the lowest in the region

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced significant income tax relief for the salaried class on Tuesday as it announced its federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, aiming to ease the burden on working people amid high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains below 10%, among the lowest in the region. The government has pledged to raise this ratio to 14% through tax reforms, digital enforcement, and expanding the tax base.

“First of all, we are providing relief where it is most needed, relief for the salaried class,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, presenting his first full-year budget in the National Assembly, said.

“In this regard, there is a proposition for a significant reduction in the income tax slabs for the working class.”

Aurangzeb said the income tax rate for individuals earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million ($2,128–$4,255) annually would be cut from 5% to 2.5%.

“For those earning up to Rs22,000,000 [$7,788], the tax rate has been proposed at 11% instead of 15%. Similarly, those who earn a higher salary, there is a proposition of tax reduction,” the finance minister said.

“For those who are earning between Rs22,000,000 [$7,788] up to Rs32,000,000 [$11,328], the tax rate has been proposed to be reduced from 25% to 23%.”

For high-income earners making over Rs10 million ($35,460) annually, a 1% reduction in the additional surcharge has been recommended to help curb the ongoing brain drain, the minister said.

Aurangzeb described the changes as part of broader efforts to simplify the tax structure and “strike a balance between inflationary pressures and take-home pay.”

The federal budget, with a total outlay of Rs17.57 trillion ($62 billion), comes as Pakistan seeks to stabilize its economy under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program approved last year.

The budget also includes a 20% increase in defense spending, while total government expenditure is expected to be 7% lower year-on-year compared to the last fiscal, reflecting fiscal consolidation goals tied to IMF negotiations.

The proposed budget will be debated in parliament before final approval.


Pakistan to raise defense spending by 20% in FY26 amid tensions with India

Updated 10 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan to raise defense spending by 20% in FY26 amid tensions with India

  • Pakistan unveils $62 billion budget, a 7% decrease in overall spending, debt servicing to consume half of total spending
  • Budget reflects attempt to balance security concerns with ongoing fiscal reform efforts under $7 billion IMF loan program

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will increase defense spending by more than 20% in the 2025-26 fiscal year to Rs2.55 trillion ($9.04 billion) as it seeks to bolster military capabilities following the country’s worst confrontation with India in nearly three decades.

The move comes as the government unveiled a Rs17.57 trillion ($62 billion) federal budget on Tuesday, reflecting a 7% decrease in overall spending compared to the current fiscal year. The largest portion of the budget – Rs8.21 trillion ($29 billion), or nearly half of total expenditures – will go toward debt servicing, continuing to strain Pakistan’s fiscal space.

“National defense is the most important priority of the government,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said while presenting his first full-year budget in the National Assembly. “For this national duty, Rs2,550 billion [$9.04 billion] will be allocated.”

Pakistan’s defense budget for the outgoing fiscal year stood at Rs2.12 trillion ($7.44 billion). The increase comes weeks after a four-day military standoff with India in May, which erupted following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 Hindu pilgrims dead. New Delhi blamed Pakistan-backed militants, a charge Islamabad denied.

The two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged missile, drone, artillery, and air strikes before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.

Aurangzeb said the budget was being presented “at a very important and historic moment when the nation in recent days showed extraordinary unity, determination and strength.”

“After the Pak-India war, India has threatened to block the flow of river water into Pakistan. India is trying to use water as a weapon. I want to make it clear that water guarantees Pakistan’s survival and no hindrance will be tolerated in this respect,” the finance minister added.

Fiscal consolidation under IMF watch

Pakistan remains under a $7 billion IMF loan program approved last year, and the budget reflects an attempt to balance security concerns with ongoing fiscal reform efforts.

The government has set a GDP growth target of 4.2% for the next fiscal year, while aiming to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.9% of GDP. The economy grew just 2.6% in 2024/25, falling short of its 3.6% target due to weak agriculture and industrial output. Inflation is projected at 7.5%.

Security personnel shift boxes with copies of the 2025–26 fiscal budget outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, before the start of the budget session. (APP)

In a May 23 statement, the IMF said Pakistan had pledged to maintain fiscal consolidation while safeguarding “social and priority expenditures,” targeting a primary surplus of 1.6% of GDP in 2025/26.

Aurangzeb said the new budget aimed to “change the DNA of our economy” by boosting exports, building foreign exchange reserves, and promoting productivity to avoid recurring balance of payment crises.

Bridging the gap

The government expects total revenues of Rs11.1 trillion ($39 billion), leaving a Rs6.5 trillion ($23 billion) financing gap to be filled through domestic and external borrowing, as well as privatization proceeds. Privatization is expected to bring in Rs87 billion, while Rs106 billion ($376 million) is projected from foreign sources.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been tasked with collecting Rs14.1 trillion of the projected Rs19.3 trillion in gross revenue, marking a 19% year-on-year increase.

Corporate employees watching television screens during presentation of Pakistan’s $62 billion federal budget for fiscal year 2025–26, in Islamabad. (APP)

Under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), Rs1 trillion ($3.5 billion) has been allocated, with Rs328 billion ($1.16 billion) earmarked for transport infrastructure projects. The government also set aside Rs113 billion ($399 million) for education and Rs32 billion ($113 million) for health care.

Aurangzeb also announced plans to grow IT exports to $25 billion over the next five years and forecast a rise in workers’ remittances to $38 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.

Mixed reaction from markets

The budget drew mixed reactions from analysts and market participants.

Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital Ltd., said the proposals prioritized “tax reduction, energy sector changes, and austerity” in line with the last two budgets.

He noted the construction sector was favored, while the auto industry was the most negatively affected.

“On equities, CGT (capital gains tax) remains at 15%, but income from loans will be taxed at 25% to encourage mutual funds to divert their funds toward the equity asset class,” Ghani said.

An elder man listening the 2025-26 federal budget speech live on his mobile phone at a roadside in Islamabad. (APP)

Amreen Soorani, head of research at Al Meezan Investment Management, said the budget proposals were largely in line with market expectations.

“While there are some discernible disparities in the taxation of various asset classes, the initial reaction from the listed equity market appears to be one of cautious optimism,” she told Arab News.

However, the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), which represents over 200 multinational companies in Pakistan, expressed disappointment, urging the government to overhaul tax structures to improve competitiveness and attract foreign investment.


Pakistan PM urges global powers to take ‘immediate action’ to end Israeli offensive in Gaza

Updated 10 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan PM urges global powers to take ‘immediate action’ to end Israeli offensive in Gaza

  • Over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its latest military offensive in Oct. 7, 2023
  • Pakistan has for decades called for establishment of independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged world powers to take immediate action to end Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, saying he hoped innocent Palestinians would achieve their dream of freedom soon.

Over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of the coastal enclave of Gaza devastated since Israel’s latest air and ground offensive began in October 2023, health authorities in Gaza say. 

“The oppression, cruelty and barbarism taking place in Palestine and Kashmir — no matter how much we condemn it, it is not enough” Sharif said while addressing a federal cabinet meeting. 

“But I believe this is a very critical time for the global powers to effectively use their influence to ensure a ceasefire in Palestine, because what is happening there is the shedding of innocent Muslim blood — the blood of little girls, children and parents.”

The Pakistani PM added:

“I have strong hope in Allah Almighty, God willing, that the people of Palestine will gain freedom, the people of Kashmir will gain freedom. They have made tremendous sacrifices.”

Pakistan has been calling for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza since the latest war broke out. 

Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, has for decades called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Although nearly 150 countries have recognized Palestine statehood, most major Western powers including the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Japan, have not. 

Muslim countries that do not recognize Israel include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
 


Pakistan shares range bound amid uncertainty over budget announcement

Updated 10 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan shares range bound amid uncertainty over budget announcement

  • Index recorded intraday high of 970 points and low of 51 points, eventually closing at 122,024, gaining 383 points or 0.32 percent
  • Pakistan will unveil annual federal budget, seeking to kickstart growth while finding resources for hike in defense expenditure 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Market witnessed a range-bound session today, Tuesday, with the index fluctuating within a narrow band amid uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement. 

Pakistan will unveil its annual federal budget for the coming fiscal year on Tuesday evening, seeking to kickstart growth while finding resources for an expected hike in defense expenditure following a military conflict with India last month, the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. 

Islamabad will also have to contend with remaining within the discipline of its International Monetary Fund program and the uncertainty from new trade tariffs being imposed by the United States, its biggest export market.

“The index recorded an intraday high of 970 points and a low of 51 points, eventually closing at 122,024 — gaining 383 points or 0.32 percent,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its daily market review. 

“Market participation remained healthy, with total traded volume reaching 591 million shares and a traded value of PKR 21 billion.”

Media reports say the government is likely to present a 17.6 trillion rupee ($62.45 billion) budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down 6.7 percent from this fiscal year. It has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP, against a targeted 5.9 percent deficit in 2024-25, the reports say.

Analysts said they expect an increase of around 20 percent in the defense budget, likely offset by cuts in development spending.

Pakistan allocated 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees($7.45 billion) for defense in the outgoing fiscal year, including $2 billion for equipment and other assets. An additional 563 billion rupees ($1.99 billion) was set aside for military pensions, which are not counted within the official defense budget.

The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has projected 4.2 percent economic growth in 2025-26, saying it has steadied the economy, which had looked at risk of defaulting on its debts as recently as 2023. Growth this fiscal year is likely to be 2.7 percent, against an initial target of 3.6 percent set in the budget last year.

Pakistan’s growth lags far behind the region. In 2024, South Asian countries grew by an average of 5.8 percent and 6.0 percent growth is expected in 2025, according to the Asian Development Bank.

With inputs from Reuters