Home Features The Rebirth of Maryam Nawaz Sharif

The Rebirth of Maryam Nawaz Sharif

by Shehrbano Taseer
Mobeen Ansari for Newsweek

Mobeen Ansari for Newsweek

Our exclusive profile of the former prime minister’s daughter and heir apparent.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif doesn’t like to admit it, but she’s her father’s favorite. When she speaks about him, she turns girly. “His legacy is beautiful,” says the 38-year-old. “Who would not want to step into those shoes?” Finally stepping into politics some months ago, it is Maryam, not her cousin Hamza or either of her brothers (who live abroad), who is now the presumed future leader of her father’s party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the second largest bloc in the National Assembly and which governs the Punjab. “He gives us all equal attention,” she says about her father, Nawaz Sharif, and the former prime minister’s relationships with his four children. “But, I suppose I am the closest to him.”

Maryam has been preparing for a political role all her life. She’s completing her Ph.D. on post-9/11 radicalization in Pakistan, she’s fluent in four languages (including Arabic), chairs the family’s charity organizations, and devours post-colonial lit from the likes of Achebe and the revolutionary verse of Faiz. Her current nighttime reading: the selected works of Francis Bacon (“my sagacious counsel”), and a couple of Cosmo magazines.

As part of her political rollout, Maryam has been touring schools and colleges—giving speeches on education and women’s rights that she writes herself. Her back story is familiar, and fascinating. Fourteen months after her father’s government was ousted by Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Oct. 12, 1999, Maryam and 22 members of her family were packed off to Saudi Arabia. Exile lasted seven years. Musharraf wrote in his autobiography, In the Line of Fire, that the military courts only spared Nawaz Sharif’s life because of pressure from the Saudi monarch.

‘The man who once said Nawaz Sharif and his party were history, and would never be allowed to return, himself had to leave the country. Let’s call it Divine retribution.’

“It was a tough time,” says Maryam of life in Saudi Arabia. “I found some solace when I visited holy places, but the yearning for the homeland never abated.” She says she did not allow exile to embitter her and used that time to pick up strength from adversity. “Only the sufferer knows what the suffering means,” she says. “All these experiences have shaped a new Maryam, I call it my rebirth.” She takes some pleasure in the fact that Musharraf has been unable to end his own four-year-long self-exile from Pakistan, cancelling his January arrival after the Army refused him support in managing parties (the PMLN, the judiciary, media) looking to settle scores with him. “What goes around comes around,” she says. “The man who once said Nawaz Sharif and his party were history, and would never be allowed to return, himself had to leave the country. Let’s call it Divine retribution.”

Musharraf’s coup had thrust Maryam and especially her mother, Kalsoom, into the spotlight. With almost all the Sharif men in jail, the former first lady took over the reins of the PMLN, leading defiant, lonely protests against the Musharraf regime. Soon enough, both mother and daughter were placed under house arrest. When they gained their freedom four months later, they were running from prison to prison, hearing haplessly the charges of corruption, terrorism, and tax evasion against Nawaz Sharif. “She dauntlessly challenged the usurper when a lot of men backed out,” says Maryam of her mother. “She’s contributed famously to my father’s life and to democracy in Pakistan.”

The PMLN came back as a political force in the 2008 elections and has been roundly criticized for appearing to be soft on terrorists and sectarian groups and for failing to revive the Punjab’s economy. But Maryam champions minorities’ rights, disapproves of politicians fraternizing with banned militant organizations (“I do not endorse this at all”), and she wants any organization that violates the law to be “strictly dealt with.” She says: “There is no place for extremism and militancy in Islam.”

Like her father, Maryam speaks passionately about the sins of military dictators. And she resents President Asif Ali Zardari’s criticism that her father is a legatee of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. “If someone aspiring to venture into politics waited for despotic rules to be over, he would have never made it,” she says. She points out that Zardari’s late father-in-law and Pakistan Peoples Party founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was mentored by Gen. Ayub Khan. “Every politician was at one time or the other a protégé of those who have been calling the shots in Pakistan.” The PMLN is no “establishment party,” she says. “We not only learnt our lesson the hard way, but paid a very heavy price for it.”

Musharraf was ‘desperate,’ says Maryam, and compensated for his illegitimacy ‘by handing over the country to the Americans.’

She is also angry with Musharraf for drafting Pakistan in the U.S.-led war on terror. “Since General Musharraf enjoyed no legitimacy at home and no credibility abroad, he was desperate to make up for these shortcomings by handing over the country to the Americans,” she says. “In the process he gained a lot, but where did it leave the country? Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives, entire villages have been laid to waste, and the scourge of militancy and terrorism are deeply afflicting the country.” Maryam states emphatically that the war on terror is not Pakistan’s war. She is also skeptical about some U.S. claims: “Do you think Osama bin Laden is dead? I am not so sure.”

Her party’s views on the war on terror are similar to those articulated by Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, but Maryam does not like the comparison: “I don’t think it’s fair to compare the PMLN with a party whose past, present and future all are murky,” she says. Pakistan cannot afford a leader who will train on the job, she says, so choosing Khan at the polls would be a “childish adventure.” She is suspicious about the PTI’s “overnight fame” and believes the party’s rise is being facilitated by “the people who call the shots.” She asks: “Where is the money coming from? Where is this all being designed?”

She’s equally unimpressed by the numbers turning out to see Khan at rallies and the politicians defecting to his side. “He has the scum of the earth along with him,” she says, “all the turncoats, all the notorious people.” PMLN lost one of its vice presidents, Javed Hashmi, to the PTI. “Mr. Khan saw him as a potential and gullible prey,” she says of Hashmi, “but I had still expected Javed Hashmi to have exerted better political acumen and discernment.” The Hashmi betrayal has hit a nerve.

She’s studied Khan’s latest book, Pakistan: a Personal History, to better know the enemy. “He is a man without substance, and I don’t think he means well,” she says, coolly. “In a country like Pakistan, how can he support sheriff elections?” Maryam is confident Khan has peaked: “The PTI bubble is bursting now.” She attributes this alleged stemming of the PTI tide to media and social-media scrutiny of candidate Khan. “People are getting very savvy and aware, no subject is taboo anymore,” she says, adding that an alliance between the “security establishment” and any political party will only backfire.

‘He is a man without substance, and I don’t think he means well,’ Maryam says of Imran Khan.

The possible dawning that Khan may not be able to wipe out mainstream parties like the PMLN in the next elections is leading his fans on social media to resort to desperate means, feels Maryam. “People can differ. Look at you and me, we don’t have similar views, but one should differ with grace,” she says. Of Khan’s followers on Twitter, she says: “It’s very bad, just look at their language. His followers make personal attacks. But I always say, ‘like leader, like follower.’ If this is the change he will bring then we are better off without it.”

Mobeen Ansari for Newsweek

Mobeen Ansari for Newsweek

Maryam’s foray into politics comes at a particularly unique time for women in Pakistan. The speaker of the National Assembly, the foreign minister, the information minister, the ambassador to the U.S., and the acting defense secretary are all women. Maryam recognizes the fact that right now is a bit of a renaissance for women in power. She says she likes Speaker Fehmida Mirza, information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan (“I like her, I like her crudeness!”), and the foreign minister. “I walked up to her because I admired her,” says Maryam of Hina Rabbani Khar. “This was after the Birkin-gate campaign. I think we need well-dressed people.” She says Khar got a raw deal for carrying expensive accessories. “I like wearing good clothes and jewelry, I don’t see it as a negative point.”

In many ways, Sharif’s PMLN is far behind the ruling PPP and its ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement in wooing women voters, who constitute at least 43 percent of Pakistan’s 83.28 million registered voters. The MQM’s women’s empowerment rally last month in Karachi was the world’s largest all-women gathering, according to the BBC. And the federal government has passed a raft of new laws to protect women from acid crimes, harassment at the workplace, honor killings, forced marriage.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif could be a signal of the PMLN’s renewed commitment to women’s rights and causes. On March 8, her uncle Shahbaz, Punjab’s chief minister, introduced the Punjab Women Empowerment Package 2012 as a response to keep up with the PPP-led government in Islamabad. The PMLN-led Punjab government wants to see more women in public service through affirmative action, daycare facilities for working mothers, low-interest loans for women entrepreneurs, more schools. Maryam worked with other PMLN officers on the package as well as on the women-only Pink Bus scheme recently launched in the Punjab.

‘We need to educate our men about the true spirit of Islam. Their lack of education leads them to suppress women.’

“Women are equal partners,” says Maryam, “but they are seldom given opportunities to prove their worth.” She’s concerned in particular about low school-enrolment and high infant-mortality rates. She’s working with the Punjab government on addressing these and on other reforms for women, including introducing a women’s help desk at police stations in the province, promoting the Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness campaign—and schooling men. “We need to educate our men about the true spirit of Islam,” she says, “Their lack of education leads them to suppress women.”

For the last 15 years, she has been managing the Sharif Trust and the family’s philanthropic initiatives, which include a hospital, schools, and colleges. She is excited about becoming a working politician. She wants to work on bills for Balochistan, across-the-board accountability, transparency in the wealth declarations of elected officials, affirmative action for women in the public sector, and improvement in Parliamentary performance through emphasis on research.

She remembers Benazir Bhutto, whom she met only once, during the Charter of Democracy days in Jeddah, fondly. “We spoke our hearts out to each other for three hours,” she says. When she learnt of Bhutto’s assassination on Dec. 27, 2007, she broke into tears. “My whole family was crying.” Maryam has a soft corner for the Bhutto-Zardari children. When Zardari fell ill last December and was ferried to Dubai for treatment, she prayed for his health. “Forget politics, his children need him,” she said at a public address.

Maryam also regrets the fact that her party and Zardari’s could not sustain their brief coalition in Islamabad. “We walked out of the coalition with a heavy heart and Pakistan lost a golden chance, once again,” she says. The end of the coalition was inevitable because the PPP had refused to restore the judges, including the country’s chief justice, sacked by Musharraf when he imposed a state of emergency on Nov. 3, 2007. “We put the interests of Pakistan and democracy above our own,” she says. “Nawaz Sharif was not being a friend of the PPP; he was being a friend of Pakistan,” she says, rejecting the accusation that the PMLN has been a “friendly opposition” turning a blind eye to the alleged wrongs of the federal government.

Will she contest the upcoming elections? “This will be the party’s decision. If they see me as a candidate with potential then I will be happy, but there is a world beyond the assemblies as well,” she says, speaking very much like a candidate. “Let’s see what destiny holds for me.” At the same time, she feels corseted by politics and that familiar burden of expectations. “I want to say things at times but I can’t because it’s against the norms. That’s very frustrating. But, Inshallah, the change will come.” Maryam says she doesn’t venture out much unless it’s for the PMLN. “We live so far away from everyone else anyway,” she says, referring to the Sharif estate in Lahore’s Raiwind. “Personally, it takes me long to repose my trust in people, but I can see myself gradually overcoming and conquering distrust.”

Maryam is a courteous hostess, keen to know how I’m doing and if I’ve enjoyed my meal. Interview over, she walks me to my car. “You really did not leave any stone unturned,” she says, laughing, “Do you think two hours is enough time to get to know a person?” It isn’t. But as a politician-in-progress who will likely one day lead the PMLN, there will be a lot more than just two hours for Pakistan to truly gauge her.

From our March 30 & April 6, 2012, issue.

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36 comments

KHAN May 13, 2013 - 6:20 pm

WAOO MARIUM COMMENTS ON IMRAN ,ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN MY POINT OF VIEW

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Ali S May 13, 2013 - 6:35 pm

Let’s just pray that Mian Sahab is far more mature and intelligent than his daughter. She’s beautiful and has poise, admittedly, but this almost read like a horror piece in some parts – especially for someone who’s supposedly the next in line for the nation’s largest political party. It’s just what you’d expect a pampered daddy’s girl to say.

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Dr.Salahuddin Khan May 13, 2013 - 8:57 pm

The rebirth of Maryam Nawaz Sharif is a welcome addition to the pantheon of politicians in Pakistan, a country starving for enlightened law makers.The passing away of Benazir left a void.It is hoped that educated and empowered Maryam will bridge that gap.Empathetic and soft with words ,she reaches out, not just to women but to all who feel disenfranchised.Pakistan politics will be enriched with her ‘rebirth’.

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Anaya May 13, 2013 - 10:51 pm

“Her current nighttime reading: the selected works of Francis Bacon (“my sagacious counsel”), and a couple of Cosmo magazines.”

She sounds more irritating than her uncle. That’s saying something.

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maliha May 13, 2013 - 11:17 pm

only time will tell the struggle of imran khan. he is a self made leader and unfournately maryam nawaz u r not.

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Jim Bo May 14, 2013 - 12:20 am

Ms Maryam is a Pakistani bimbo. Being pretty is not a disadvantage when representing Pakistani camelot. but its a bit earlier to come-out for a photoshoot on the pretext that this was an “intellectual” interview. Why is that Paki political women market themselves more than what’s between the ears. Keep prettiness for your husband/boyfriend. Nation needs your intellect.

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MUsman May 14, 2013 - 2:25 am

Mariam – It seems to me that Imran Khan did all the research for your PhD on the subject of “Post-911 radicalization in Pakistan” as he proposed more concrete solutions to eradicate this problem than your father, uncle or PML-N could come up with.

As a young Pakistani living abroad, your family’s pseudo-dictatorship, corruption and balatant ass-kissing of US has left us all ashamed. Thank god I’m not a peasant in Pakistan because that’s where wrath of your family’s feudal system is in complete morbid force.

Unfortunately, Pakistanis couldn’t uproot your family but I hope you will not be in the Happy-lane in Jannah.

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Sehrish Khan May 30, 2014 - 8:41 am

You have replied beautifully …. and said all that which I wanted to.

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shamaAhsan May 14, 2013 - 3:27 pm

Hey Mairam, Ph.D hahahaha four languages excluding English :p
Make up ki Dukan, you are not what you are trying to be. please don’t pose, we know you and your dad, pimps of US.

Do you think you are in a position to comment about IK, you are no more different baby bhutto and even when you were exiled, you people were living lavish life, don’t take sympathies and say thanks to the fool nation of Pakistan that they accepted your dad again. we know all agencies are supporting your dad.

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SS May 14, 2013 - 6:07 pm

With all due respect Ms. Sharif, your comments in this article are ripe with contradictions which only serve to highlight your limited political intellect. You criticize PTI followers for making “personal attacks” and yet you go ahead and make a similar attack on Imran Khan by saying he lacks substance and does not mean well? By all means criticize Imran Khan’s policies, his platform, his party’s mandate, but do not try to discredit a man who has dedicated his life to social work, has absolutely no record of corruption (unlike Mr. Sharif), has not tried (yet) to endanger lives of civilians or the Pakistani constitution for his greed for power as Mr. Sharif did back in the 90s. I am not a PTI supporter but I do recognize the contributions Imran Khan has made to Pakistan – and any man who has done so much for his country has more substance than most politicians or civilians I know.

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Sehrish Khan May 30, 2014 - 8:47 am

When I read the article , I was so outraged that this woman is either insane or think that nation is fool. Does she think we have no information how Mr. Sharif has got this power again … by the support of America and saudis.
How unfortunate are we that another idiot is being prepared to lead a nation whose intellect is at number 4 worldwide.

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aal May 15, 2013 - 1:14 am

Can’t belive the cheek of this women ! Ms Maryam Nawaz … Like father like daughter – People who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others … Maybe the people you criticized were ALL better off than your horrible father and Pls do not dare compare your father with Imran khan. Shrek sorry Sharif and IK are polls apart !To say Ik does not have subtance and does not mean well ??And your father does – ha ha ha ! What has your family been doing other than money laundering and being kissing US asses ? I will only respect you if you claim that you do something to empower women but I really doubt that .Another snake in the making for poor Pakistani nation . Dreading !!

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SS May 15, 2013 - 10:56 am

Exactly! It saddens me when such immature, depraved and unapologetic people are regarded as potential leaders of Pakistan.

A sign of a good leader is his / her ability to recognize his / her mistakes and learn from them. That sense of accountability and responsibility is completely absent from the Sharif party. Mr. Sharif tells us he forgives us for not voting for him – has he or his daughter once acknowledged their mistakes or apologised for letting the people of Pakistan down previously? No. That’s what makes it hard to believe they have evolved or are actually sincere this time around.

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Shireen hussain May 15, 2013 - 10:20 am

I agree with all the comments !

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Ash May 17, 2013 - 12:41 am

Just in case if Ms Nawaz has the ability to see, The whole nation including the very aged admitted in hospitals and living in different corners of the world and the nation as whole voted this time. FOR A CHANGE. Only change this time is Imran Khan. He clearly is the Masses Leader as the nation came out to vote for him alone. We are so unfortunate that cancer within our establishments once again showed the nation, who makes the decesions.

If you can see that, then you’ll be able to see what your status is. You’re wanted only amongst the corrupts who have been scavenging Pakistan from Day one and not the nation at ALL. People even went behind Tahir ul Qadri and go behind an unkown leader since they hate you so much. Thank ALLAH we at least have a way better option with Imran Khan.

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Ahmad May 17, 2013 - 5:03 am

the problem with all of you, is bloody lack of tolerance for each other

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aly May 17, 2013 - 4:47 pm

i simply said work for pakistani people work for your nation nothing else dunt blame others nation knows about every single one of u again n again work for your nation

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Babar Noman May 18, 2013 - 3:04 am

Somebody above said she may be filling in the void of Benazir, I ask you will we ever break free from slavery? .. y would daughter of another rich guy fill shoes of her .. what Maryam Nawaz has significant in her portfolio except being daughter of one of the most rich & controversial person? Pakistan has a lot more to offer then Bhuttos, Zardaris & Shariffs … Until we don’t reject them as leader by heart they will continue to come back & keep us salves!

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goldie May 20, 2013 - 9:54 pm

listen to this guy have some shame pakistani people! please…

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sikandar agro May 18, 2013 - 3:08 am

graceful personality with a talented brain

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Tabby May 18, 2013 - 7:34 am

Unimpressive to say the least!! evn whn in exile, Madam lived a very luxurious life, so no sympathies there whatsoever!! Having won the election we are forced to accept the ‘sharifs ‘, def not the educated nations choice !! IK def a more dignified man to lead Pakistan.

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Hasan May 18, 2013 - 1:58 pm

I came here to know about Miss Maryam. But the article was not about her. It seems somebody has tried to paint personal liking about her.
My summary of the article is that she loves her father very much. She has never seen hardships in her life. She has biased opinions about other party leaders only because they are fighting against her father. She needs to put inconsistent credit (PhD and book reading) to her name to show off her intellect.

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Areeba Khan May 19, 2013 - 11:44 pm

Whatever she thinks about khan is really hurting! Specially ” like leader, like followers”. If she sees herself as a “leader” then she should take care of her people’s sentiments!!!

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Sattar Rind May 20, 2013 - 4:53 pm

nice lady. nice interview.

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irfaan akhlaaq May 21, 2013 - 7:36 pm

A beautiful lady with beautiful mind

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Shahab Akbar Khan May 27, 2013 - 1:28 pm

love you bro, you spoke my heart, we will have to get rid of all these capitalists/imperialists/robbers/immorals

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Azhar July 21, 2013 - 6:07 pm

beautiful pictures

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Sanjeev Kumar Yadav July 26, 2013 - 12:27 pm

when subcontinent people rise against people who run country like a family business, learn from the west fools….

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MUZAFFAR September 7, 2013 - 4:56 pm

YOU PEOPLES CAN COMMENTS ONLY AND SHE PROVE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL POLITICIAN.

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Fida Ahmed Advocate September 10, 2013 - 4:54 pm

Imran Khan is more a man of substance than her father. Reason: Imran Khan has never tried to seek the support of the crook. Got the point, Maryam? You can verify it from independent, reliable sources….

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zain December 1, 2013 - 8:56 am

in first picture she looks ok but in second picture she looks old hag

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Monica May 26, 2014 - 1:08 pm

Pakistan also has political dynasties

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Amit Singh May 27, 2014 - 5:18 pm

great buaty

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shahid135 May 30, 2014 - 9:01 am

Pakistan will never change but atleast we again have a pretty politician which was not there since Hina Rabbani Khar disappeared.

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Kamran Bangash March 2, 2017 - 7:35 pm

Under PML N Pakistan is progressing. Things have changed a lot.
Thank you Nawaz Sharif.

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azad kastro May 17, 2018 - 5:30 pm

she is a complete fake and fabricated woman .she is doing fun on the name of politics at her family’s ill-gotten money and government. she acts more like an actress than a politician. Her so called pampered struggle within own government doesn’t have any value..Her self obsessive nature and egotistical traits are enough to force her to bite the dust.

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