Generally considered a conservative political party that supports
free market capitalism, democratic ideals and is anti-censorship, the Shehbaz
Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is among the few major political
entities that shaped Pakistan as it is today.
While the party’s popularity has taken massive blows in recent years owing to the alleged involvement of its leadership, especially former party chief and thrice-elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in corrupt practices, here are five reasons you have to love PML-N for, nonetheless.
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5. Punjab Protection
of Women Against Violence Bill:
The Shehbaz administration passed in the provincial assembly
the Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2015, granting sweeping powers to
women, particularly in their marital life.
While the bill invited strong criticism from religious
circles that termed some of the clauses of the new law “repugnant to the basic
canons of Islam”, it was finally passed by the Punjab Assembly in February 2016,
providing comprehensive protection to women against a range of crimes.
4. 126 days of
patience:
Among other achievements of the PML-N during its last tenure
were the 126 days of patience while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran
Khan continued his Azadi march and subsequent sit-in in the federal capital
from August 14 to December 17, 2014.
The patience that the then ruling party resorted to –
without launching a rigorous crackdown and later accepting the protesters’
demands – calls for accepting it as a reason to love the PML-N.
3. China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor:
PML-N supremo Nawaz is credited for the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) project which has brought $46 billion investment to
Pakistan.
The project is a collection of infrastructure projects that
are currently under construction throughout the country, the value of which was
worth $62 billion as of 2017.
Officials predict that CPEC will result in the creation of over
2 million jobs by the year 2030 and will add 2 to 2.5 percent points to the
country’s annual economic growth.
2. Dealing with the
energy crisis:
The PML-N government launched several power plants in
Sahiwal, Port Qasim, Jamshoro, Faisalabad, Mianwali and DG Khan besides a solar
park in Bahawalpur and wind farms in Sindh to overcome the once
“uncontrollable” power shortage.
Its pre-2013 polls promise to bring about US$20 billion for
the energy sector was also fulfilled which positively impacted the lives of the
people, at least until 2018.
1. War on terror:
The then premier Nawaz launched the Karachi operation in
2013 as part of which hundreds of criminals, gangs and terrorist were held and
sentenced.
Zarbe Azab was also one of the biggest and most successful
anti-terrorism operations ever, which was launched by the Nawaz government. The
operation launch was followed by the formation of the National Action Plan
later in 2015 to crack down on terrorism and supplement the anti-terrorist
offensives.
It was considered as a major coordinated state retaliation
following the deadly APS Peshawar attack and received unprecedented levels of
support and co-operation across the country’s political spectrum.
