Pakistan's First Female Prime Minister... Controversy Over Wearing Police Uniform, Why?

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif
Opposition "Wrongdoing", Netizens "What is the intention?"

A female provincial chief minister in Pakistan sparked controversy after attending a female police officers' graduation ceremony wearing a police uniform.

According to Pakistan's daily Dawn and other sources on the 27th (local time), Mariam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province in the northeast, attended the female police officers' graduation ceremony held on the 25th in the provincial capital Lahore wearing a police uniform.

Mariam Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan, wearing a police uniform (left)
Photo by Pakistan daily Dawn capture

Chief Minister Sharif is the first woman to become a provincial chief minister since Pakistan's founding in 1947. In her congratulatory speech, she pointed out the severe shortage of women in the Punjab police and stated that she had instructed to make the gender ratio 50% each for men and women.

When news spread that the chief minister attended the female police officers' graduation ceremony wearing a police uniform, opinions were divided. Opposition leaders in the provincial assembly criticized it as inappropriate behavior. On social media, critical comments flooded in asking what the intention behind such an act was.

Regarding this, a lawyer in Lahore filed a petition in the criminal court, accusing the chief minister of impersonating a police officer. However, the ruling party in Punjab, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the Punjab police defended the chief minister's actions.

PML-N has alternated in power with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) during periods excluding the over 30 years when the military ruled through coups. However, even during the periods when PML-N and PPP were in power, the military is known to have exerted strong influence behind the scenes.

They stated that there are relevant regulations allowing the chief minister to wear a police uniform and evaluated that the chief minister's action boosted the pride of the police force.

On the 26th (local time), Maryam Nawaz Sharif (second from the right), eldest daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is giving a speech after being elected in the prime minister election vote held the previous day at the Punjab Provincial Assembly in northeastern Pakistan.
[Photo by AFP/Yonhap News]

Earlier, the chief minister's father, former federal Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, revealed that he had attended events wearing a police uniform while serving as the Punjab chief minister.

They reiterated that there are relevant regulations permitting the chief minister to wear a police uniform and that the chief minister's recent action raised the police's morale. They also mentioned that Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister's father and former federal prime minister, had previously attended events wearing a police uniform during his tenure as Punjab chief minister.

Mariam Nawaz became the first female provincial chief minister since Pakistan's founding in 1947 in February this year. Punjab, with a population of 120 million, is the largest of Pakistan's four provinces. The province is considered the stronghold of the Sharif family, with Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shehbaz Sharif, and others having served as chief ministers.

At the time, opposition provincial lawmakers criticized Mariam Nawaz's re-election as chief minister as 'nepotism' by the Sharif family and walked out of the assembly hall.