Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief organiser Maryam Nawaz is all set to make history by becoming the first-ever woman chief minister of a province in Pakistan. Her party has clinched a clear majority in the Provincial Assembly. She has shown signs of the strengths needed to meet the challenges she will face as the administrative head of the province that has been the main source of her party’s power. Her performance will be constantly compared and set against the high standards of governance and administration set by her uncle, Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister.

Addressing a party gathering on February 21 at Jati Umrah, she acknowledged this challenge: “I know I have big shoes to fill.” She also vowed to start a “new era” in the Punjab. “I humbly say that today there is talk in the media that Maryam has been given the opportunity to become the first woman chief minister of the Punjab. It is an honour for the nominee… it is a great honour, I dedicate this to every mother, daughter, sister, child and all women members of the legislatures in Pakistan and the Punjab.“

As a child, Maryam had never wished to be a politician. However, circumstances pushed her into the political arena. She saw her father, uncle, brother Hussain Nawaz and several party leaders being arrested and persecuted after Gen Musharraf’s coup. She witnessed her mother, late Begum Kalsoom Nawaz, out on the streets protesting for the release of Nawaz Sharif and other family members.

During the family’s years of exile in Saudi Arabia, Maryam focused on raising her children. It was a learning process. The ordeal also provided her a strong........

© The News on Sunday