MARYAM Nawaz Sharif swapped her own photo for former PML-N Senator Nehal Hashmi`s on Twitter, minutes after he was held in contempt by the Supreme Court, stripped of his Senate seat and sentenced to a month`s imprisonment.

Now Ms Sharif`s 4.38 million followers see the grey-haired Nehal Hashmi standing at a lectern in a dark suit and tie on her Twitter profile, instead of her smiling face. Seeing this change, they must also ask if it represents a significant gear-change in the PML-N`s campaign.

In the first phase of the PML-N campaign that followed the Panama Papers leaks, the party kept its faith in the judicial system and seemed to congratulate itself rather prematurely when a 3-2 verdict sent the matter for further investigation to a joint investigation team (JIT) rather than lead to the disqualification of the prime minister.

The PML-N`s suspicions were raised when the JIT was formed with members not seen as sympathetic to the party although Nawaz Sharif and his children, and PML-N stalwarts such as Ishaq Dar, did agree to appear before it for multiple hours`long sessions in the hope of placating the judges.

Then, when the court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public of fice, the PML-N went into protest mode and the ousted prime minister started touring the country to galvanise support behind his campaign to be seen as a political martyr a martyr who`d been wronged by the judiciary possibly with the military`s backing, and whose victimhood narrative seemed to be gathering traction as crowds started to grow at his rallies and public meetings in the Punjab and parts of KP.

While Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his close friend-ally Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the confrontational politics chosen by party leader Nawaz Sharif and his apparent chosen successor Maryam Nawaz was harmful for the party, the latter seemed to have ignored their reservations.

But there is doubt that Nehal Hashmi`s comments, though completely over the top and unacceptable, were made with the intention of achieving anything other than the applause of a small yet charged partisan crowd at an obscure meeting, away from the pry-ing eyes of the media.

Hashmi spoke when Nawaz Sharif`s son appeared before the JIT and the PML-N was yet to up the ante as it was still hopeful of a favourable verdict from the court. But around the world smartphones are now proving to be a cause of considerable discomfiture for politicians, if not their undoing.

It was a clip recorded on a smartphone which was first posted on social media and then picked up by TV channels that brought the Hashmi remarks to the Supreme Court`s notice. The PML-N was so far away from its current confrontational mode that it suspended the senator and also asked him to resignhis seat probably as a peace offering to the honourable judges.

In campaigning on the victimhood platform now, Maryam Nawaz and her team seem to be setting the PML-N agenda. By summoning two PML-N leaders, who happen to be ministers and close to her to answer contempt charges, the Supreme Court is indicating a refusal to play on the back foot. Let`s see if the ministers apologise and still meet Hashmi`s f ate or remain defiant.

The PML-N`s adversaries such as Bilawal BhuttoZardari, while opposing punishments for politicians under the contempt law, have called for contempt proceedings against former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf for putting Supreme Court judges under virtual house arrest in 2007.

In addition, there are many voices on social media calling for similar action against the TLYRA leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi whose clips of abusive language against the chief justice are doing the rounds on social media.Even then the Supreme Court seems to be focused on first holding to account those who bear greater responsibility for their actions, being the elected representatives of the people and holders of public of fice, rather than a political-has-been-former-ruler or the leader of a f anatical religious group.

The PML-N has interpreted this as a signal to now totally rely on its popular support base as it seems to be bereft of hope of securing a favourable verdict even in the accountability court currently hearing the NAB references against Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz.

As the parliamentary coup in Balochistan against the PML-N chief minister Sanaullah Zehri, a mere eight weeks before the elections to replace half the retiring senators, demonstrated, the party`s paranoia isn`t entirely unfounded.

Which informed commentator has not talked about attempts at political engineering be it in Balochistan or in Karachi or at a wider level as the vote share of some pro-establishment religious political entities has shown in some recent by-elections inthePunjabandKP.

The PML-N may feel justified in taking its case to the public in a highly charged political campaign especially since its efforts seem to be working in gathering popular momentum behind its slogans but it will also have to calibrate things very carefully so as not to upset the entire apple cart.

Its best chance still lies in scoring a major win in Punjab and regaining some of its lost ground particularly in the conservative Hazara areas of KP in this year`s general elections. Ergo, it will be wise not to take its campaign to a point where the electoral exercise is jeopardised.

What may happen if its best-case scenario is realised is, admittedly, another matter. Will it be possible for it to negotiate with other political parties to ease Nawaz Sharif`s way back to of fice via a constitutional amendment or carry on as now: being in power and playing opposition politics at the same time? • The writer is a former editor o f D aw n.

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