In first outreach by new Pakistan govt, Maryam quotes father Nawaz Sharif: ‘Don’t fight with neighbours, open doors of friendship’

New Delhi views her speech as a positive gesture — a broader signal to India, from the daughter of Sharif, who is the patriarch of the current political establishment. While Maryam invoked her father several times, she did not mention her uncle, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Maryam Sharif during her visit to Kartarpur Sahib

She started by invoking her grandfather, who moved from Jatti Umra in India’s Amritsar to Pakistan’s Lahore, and recalled how their house has still been preserved. “Once someone came from India, from Jatti Umra. He brought soil from there, so I put it on my grandfather’s grave,” she said.

“When I became the chief minister, I got congratulatory messages from India, and Punjab as well… I felt that there are no borders (between us),” she said. “People in Punjab, whether they are from here or from India’s Punjab, they saw that a daughter of India’s Punjab and Pakistan Punjab has become the mukhya mantri (chief minister), they celebrated,” she said, using the Hindi term “mukhya mantri” instead of the Urdu “wazeer aala”. “Today, after coming here, I got the feeling that this is true,” she said.

Speaking in Punjabi, she said: “…I have read that Baba Guru Nanak had come here… worked on the fields, he used to cook himself, he used to serve the people. I am happy that the harvest will be used to feed the pilgrims at the langar, to serve the people.”

Making a point about inclusivity, she said: “Today, as a government, for the first time, we are celebrating the festival of Baisakhi… You are from Punjab, I am from Pakistan, but I am also a true Punjabi.”

Maryam Sharif (in blue) during her visit to Kartarpur Sahib

“I know that people of Punjab know how to be happy, they know how to celebrate. I am very happy to come here, and to celebrate Baisakhi with you… Punjab lives in my heart, we live in Punjab, and Punjab lives in our hearts,” she said.

Underlining that for the first time in Pakistan’s history, a member of the minority Sikh community had taken oath as a minister in Punjab province, she said: “(Ramesh Singh) Arora Saab, who is my brother, and Pakistan’s and Punjab’s first Sikh minister… in Nawaz Sharif’s government, a Sikh has become a minister for the first time.”

Maryam also recalled the development of infrastructure during Nawaz Sharif’s time. “When you see the borders are open and you come here, you come for pilgrimage, so then, too, one remembers Nawaz Sharif, because he says, don’t fight wars with neighbours, open the doors, open the doors of friendship, open the doors of your hearts,” she said, as the crowd shouted “jo bole so nihal”.

“As the daughter of Punjab, as your sister, I want to say that whether it is India’s Punjab or Pakistan’s Punjab, I will uphold your respect, your dignity,” she said. “Pakistan is one such place where within a few weeks, Ramzan, Eid, Easter, Baisakhi, Holi is celebrated…People are large-hearted, when there is trouble…everyone opens up their hearts, everyone prays, it is my heart’s desire that Pakistan becomes a place where minorities… will be respected,” she said.

Emphasising the linguistic pluralism, she added: “The way Indians speak in Punjabi, I want Pakistanis to also speak in Punjabi.”

Announcing plans to improve the tourism infrastructure in the area, she said her government would “develop facilities, hotels, transport” and focus on “security and safety arrangements”.

Calling on Sikhs across the world to visit Kartarpur Sahib, she said: “My Sikh brothers and sisters, whoever is listening across the world, Pakistan’s doors are open for you, please come in large numbers, please come here and see for yourself, stay here, celebrate… My effort will be to extend help from the government’s side, to take care of you, give respect, and see you off till the border.”

As she ended her speech, she told her security team: “This is a place of worship, so be sensitive, don’t create a ruckus here”.

Maryam’s speech is reminiscent of Sharif’s outreach during his past stints as PM. As chief minister of Pakistan Punjab, the country’s largest province, she holds one of the most important positions in Pakistan’s political landscape, and her call for better ties reinvigorates the Punjab-Punjab bonhomie that has been envisaged by the state governments across the border. In fact, Shehbaz Sharif had visited Punjab and Delhi in December 2013 as then Punjab CM.

Her positive and conciliatory statements are in line with what is expected from Islamabad, in keeping with the Sharifs’ approach towards India. This is the first big signal from the new government, which took charge in March this year after a bitter election. While Imran Khan’s PTI-backed candidates emerged as the largest grouping, the Pakistan Army made sure that the party led by the Sharifs, PMLN, and Bhutto-Zardari-led PPP stitched a coalition to keep the PTI away.