Nawaz Sheriff is a close friend of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. While Premadasa was the President of Sri Lanka, Nawaz was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. When Premadasa was going to hold the SAARC conference in Sri Lanka, India decided to boycott it.
At that time, it was Nawaz Sharif who gave strength to Premadasa to hold the SAARC conference without India. Ranil Wickramasinghe was a powerful minister in Premadasa’s government when Premadasa was dealing closely with Nawaz. In 1993, when Ranil became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Nawaz was holding the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan.
There are many similarities between Nawaz and Ranil as well. When Ranil became the Prime Minister again in 2015, Nawaz also became the Prime Minister of Pakistan again in 2013. During this time, Nawaz visited Sri Lanka. He met Prime Minister Ranil. Ranil and Nawaz also met at an economic conference held in Davos, Switzerland.
In 2017, when President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a commission against Prime Minister Ranil on the bond scam, Nawaz was accused of money laundering in Pakistan’s Panama Papers revelations. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan removed Nawaz from the post of Prime Minister because of the Panama Papers revelations. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz from holding government office. He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ranil was also accused by the commission appointed In 2017 when President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a commission against Prime Minister Ranil on the bond scam, Nawaz was accused of proper money laundering in Pakistan’s Panama Papers revelations. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan removed Nawaz from the post of Prime Minister because of the Panama Papers revelations. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz from holding government office. He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ranil was also accused by the commission appointed to investigate the 2017 Maitri on bond scam. In 2018, Maithripala removed Ranil from the post of Prime Minister. Even though Ranil was the prime minister again, in the 2020 general election, the public disqualified Ranil to hold the position of MP. Nawaz lost his MP position because of the court. Ranil lost his MP because of the people.
After being sentenced, Nawaz fled to London and handed over the leadership of the party to his brother Shahbaz Sharif, who was the Chief Minister of Punjab. Nawaz appointed his brother Shahbaz as the leader of the opposition and controlled him from London. In 2022, when a political crisis arose in Pakistan, a vote of no confidence was presented against the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan was passed.
Nawaz’s brother Shahbaz became the prime minister. There are parallels between Shahbaz becoming Prime Minister and Ranil becoming President. Just as Nawaz protected his power by making his brother Prime Minister because he could not do politics, the Rajapaksa family made his family friend Ranil the president after the ‘aragalaya’ because Rajapakse family could not do politics.
Like Ranil, Shahbaz is afraid of elections. Shahbaz is postponing the state elections in Pakistan saying that he cannot allow an election because of the economic crisis. Ranil also postpones local government elections in Sri Lanka saying that there is no money to hold elections due to the economic crisis. The Pakistani court has ordered Shahbaz’s government to hold elections, and the Sri Lankan court has also ordered Ranil’s government to hold elections.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz said on Monday that Sri Lankan President Ranil helped to get the IMF package; it was known India helped Sri Lanka to get the IMF package. This statement is a puzzle as India help Sri Lanka to get IMF and how could Ranil help Pakistan get IMF
Whatever Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz statement is on Ranil by that it is clear Shahbaz got advice not only for IMF package but also to postpone the elections.
By Upul Josep Fernando
