Prime Minister of Pakistan
Born: 25 December 1949 (age 63)
Profession: Politician, Business Man
Affiliation(s): PML-N
Citizenship: Pakistani
Profile Profile Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician and industrialist who is serving as the current Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third term, previously having been Pakistan's 12th and 14th Prime Minister for two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 to October 1999 respectively. Sharif is the president of Pakistan Muslim League (N), which is currently Pakistan's largest political party, and has formed the government. As the owner of Ittefaq Group, a leading business conglomerate, he is also one of the country's wealthiest men. He is commonly known as the "Lion of the Punjab" or "Tiger of Pakistan." Sharif rose to prominence as part of General Zia-ul-Haq's military regime in the 1980s under the wing of Governor of Punjab Ghulam Jilani Khan. He was appointed Chief Minister of Punjab by Zia in 1985. After Zia's death and Benazir Bhutto's being elected Prime Minister in 1988, Sharif emerged as opposition leader from the conservative Pakistan Muslim League. When Benazir was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990 on corruption charges, Sharif was elected Prime Minister the same year. But relations between Sharif and Ghulam Ishaq too deteriorated, with Ghulam Ishaq attempting to dismiss Sharif on similar charges. Sharif successfully challenged the President's decision in the Supreme Court, but both men were ultimately persuaded to step down in 1993 by army chief Abdul Waheed Kakar. Serving as the Leader of the Opposition during Benazir's second tenure, Sharif was re-elected Prime Minister with a historic two-thirds majority in parliament, after Benazir was again dismissed for corruption by new President Farooq Leghari.[8] Sharif replaced Leghari with Rafiq Tarar as President, then stripped the Presidency of its powers by passing the Thirteenth Amendment. He also controversially ordered Pakistan's first nuclear tests in response to neighbouring India's second nuclear tests. When Western countries suspended foreign aid, Sharif froze the country's foreign currency reserves to prevent further capital flight, but this only worsened economic conditions. With rising unemployment and record foreign debt, Sharif's second term also saw tussles with the judiciary and army. After Sharif was summoned for contempt by the Supreme Court in 1997, party workers attacked the court and Chief Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah. Sharif also fell out with army chief Jehangir Karamat and replaced him with Pervez Musharraf in 1998, but after Pakistan's haphazard performance in the Kargil War, relations between the two also deteriorated. When he attempted to relieve Musharraf from his command on 12 October 1999, the army instead ousted Sharif's government, exiling him to Saudi Arabia. Sharif returned in 2007, and his party contested elections in 2008, forming the provincial government in Punjab under Sharif's brother Shahbaz until 2013. He successfully called for Musharraf's impeachment and the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Between 2008 and 2013, Sharif was in opposition. In the 2013 Pakistani general election, his party achieved the largest number of votes and he formed a coalition to become the 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan, returning to the position after fourteen years, in a democratic transition, for an unprecedented third time. Early life and education Nawaz Sharif was born in the upper-middle class Sharif family in Lahore, Punjab on 25 December 1949. The Sharif family are Punjabis of Kashmiri origin. His father, Muhammad Sharif, was an upper middle-class businessman and industrialist who had migrated from Amritsar district to Pakistan during the 1947 Indian partition. His father followed the teachings of the Ahl al-Hadith.[14] His family owns Ittefaq Group, a multimillion dollar steel conglomerate and Sharif Group, a conglomerate company with holdings in agriculture, transport and sugar mills. He is married to Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif. His brother Shahbaz Sharif is the incumbent Chief Minister of Punjab province while his nephew Hamza Shahbaz Sharif is a member of the National Assembly. His daughter Maryam Nawaz is also in politics and a leader of his party. The personal residence of the Sharif family, Raiwind Palace, is located in Jati Umra, Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore. He went to Saint Anthony High School. He graduated from the Government College University, Lahore with an art and business degree and then received a law degree from the Punjab University Law College. Political life Nawaz Sharif, who remained a member of the Punjab Provincial Council for sometime, joined the Punjab cabinet as finance minister in 1981. He raised the allocation of funds for the development of rural areas to 70 per cent of the Annual Development Programme of the province. He also held the portfolio of sports and was able to reorganise the sports activities in the province. In the party-less general elections of 1985, Nawaz Sharif won with an overwhelming majority both in the national and provincial assembly election. On April 9, 1985, he was sworn-in as Punjab chief minister. On May 31, 1988, he was appointed caretaker chief minister after dismissal of assemblies by General Ziaul Haq. He was again elected as chief minister after the 1988 general elections and massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was undertaken during his term as the Punjab chief minister. On November 6, 1990, Nawaz Sharif was sworn-in as prime minister of Pakistan after the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (Islamic Democratic Alliance) or IJI won the October 1990 elections. However, he could not complete his five-year term and was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in April 1993. He was reinstated by the Supreme Court but had to resign along with the president on July 18, 1993. His party was defeated by the Pakistan People’s Party in the general elections of 1993. However, Sharif was appointed as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly till its dissolution in November 1996. During his tenure as the prime minister, efforts were made to strengthen the industries with the help of private sector and projects like Ghazi Brotha and Gwadar Miniport were initiated. Land was distributed among landless peasants in Sindh. Relations with the Central Asian Republics were strengthened and the Economic Cooperation Organisation was given a boost. In an attempt to end the Afghan crisis, the Islamabad Accord was reached between various Afghan factions. His most important contribution was the economic progress despite the US sanctions on Pakistan through the Pressler Amendment. Pakistan Muslim League again won the elections held in February 1997 and Nawaz Sharif was again elected as prime minister with an overwhelming majority on February 17, 1997. He remained in power till being overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999. Taking advantage of his absolute majority in the National Assembly, he added a landmark in the constitutional history of Pakistan by repealing the controversial Eighth Amendment. The Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment stripped the president of his powers, under Article 52(b) of the Eighth Amendment, to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve the National Assembly. Nawaz Sharif added another feather to his cap when the Parliament adopted the anti-defection law as Fourteenth Amendment Bill. His development venture of the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway was appreciated by a segment of the society while others criticised it for being an extravagance for a developing country. Relationship with Chief Justice and President During his second tenure, his working relationship with the apex court severed and his differences with Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah became public. He also developed an uneasy relationship with President Farooq Leghari, who had earlier been his major political opponent. With the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, the president was on a direct collision course with the prime minister. A few months later, this and the dramatic confrontation with the judiciary culminated in the removal of Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and on December 2, 1997, the resignation of President Farooq Leghari. Nuclear Blasts In 1998, the world powers exerted pressure on him for not testing nuclear devises but he rejected the pressure and conducted the nuclear tests on May 28, 1998, making Pakistan first nuclear power among the Islamic countries. It was in direct response to five nuclear tests by India just two weeks earlier. Relations between Pakistan and India However, later Sharif attempted to normalise relations between India and Pakistan. He took an initiative in February 1999 and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited Lahore via bus through Wagah border in 1999 and the two leaders signed historical Lahore Declaration. Kargil Conflict In May 1999, relations between Pakistan and India once again became bitter because of Kargil War. The latest conflict between the two nuclear powers posed a threat to the South Asia region. However, after the intervention of international community, particularly US President Bill Clinton, talks resumed between India and Pakistan. Military coup On October 12, 1999, the government headed by Nawaz Sharif was overthrown in a military coup. Controversy over the Kargil operation, corruption charges and the so-called plane hijacking conspiracy case are considered to be the main reasons for his ouster. After an extensive trial, Nawaz Sharif was charged and found guilty in the ‘plane hijacking conspiracy’ case. On request of the Saudi Royal family, the Pakistan government exiled him to Saudi Arabia along with the whole Sharif family on December 20, 2000. Return to Pakistan in 2007 after forced Exile He moved to the UK in 2006 from where he attempted to come back to Pakistan on September 10, 2007 but was again deported to Saudi Arabia the same day. Finally, he landed in Lahore on November 25, 2007 along with the whole family. Several cases of corruption against him are still pending decision in local courts. Assassination of Benazir Bhutto On 27 December, in a CNN interview just hours after the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Sharif said:“It is not a sad day, it is a dark, darkest, gloomiest day in the history of this country.” Sharif called Bhutto his sister and vowed to avenge her death 2008 Elections On Monday, 18 February the PML (N) dominated the Punjab assembly and won 68 seats out of 272 from the National Assembly finishing second, directly behind the PPP (Bhutto/Zardari's party) at 88. However, after adding the reserved seats for women and minorities, total number rose to 91. The results became clear on 19 February. His massive victory in Punjab was met by a festive mood. Later that day in a press conference he said that he would welcome the political leaders back to the parent party who had left his party and joined the PML (Q). Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told 21 February 2008 their parties will work together in the national parliament after scoring big wins in the 2008 election. On Tuesday, 26 February 2008, Nawaz announced that he and his brother Shabaz Sharif would run in by-elections upcoming in the country within the next few weeks, to become Members of Parliament, since they have no restrictions against them. the PML (N) left it to the PPP to chose a Prime Minister, since they agreed on forming a coalition government. Cricketer Nawaz Sharif was a cricketer and played a first class game in the 1973-74 season representing Pakistan Railways. Family Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is married with four children, two sons and two daughters. His elder son Hussain Nawaz is also married and settled in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and looking after the family business, whereas younger son Hassan Nawaz is settled in London and running his family business from there. His both daughters are married. Mariam Nawaz is married to Capt. (R) Safdar and younger is married with the son of Senator Ishaq Dar. Third term as Prime Minister (2013–present) On the 11th May 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) won 126 seats in the national assembly. This was met with surprise by many political experts. He claimed a clinching victory, mainly in the Punjab. Sharif, in his victory speech on the night of the election said: "Through this vote and campaign I have felt how much love Pakistan has for me. And I have twice as much love for you. Thank God that he has given us the chance to help you, to help Pakistan, to help the young people. We will fulfill all the promises that we have made. Pray that we can make a government on our own, without compromises or have to lean on anyone else. Because if we have to ask for seats, we cannot make a strong government. We forgive anyone who has abused us along the way and we have not cursed anyone. We want to get Pakistan out of trouble. We have a program to change the state of Pakistan. We must make a decision to change this country. To all other parties, I say come and sit at the table." Even before the result was announced, the PTI conceded victory. PTI leader Imran Khan congratulated Sharif on his victory in the elections. After most of the results were counted, the ECP announced that the PML-N had 124 seats in Parliament. Because the Pakistan Muslim League (N) were 13 seats short of a 137-majority, Sharif had to form a coalition. Therefore, he began to hold talks with Independent candidates who were elected to Parliament. Sharif said he wanted to avoid having to form a coalition so as to have the strong government Pakistan needs at the present time, but because he was 13 seats short, he had to form a coalition. On 19th May 2013, it was reported that Nawaz Sharif had secured a majority in Pakistan's national assembly after 18 independent candidates joined the party, allowing it to form government in the National Assembly without striking an alliance with any other party. The minimum needed was 13 independent candidates, but Sharif had managed to make an alliance with 5 more candidates, giving the PML-N a coalition government of 142 seats. After the coalition was announced, Nawaz Sharif stated that he wanted to take his oath as Prime Minister on the 28th of May, which is the 15th anniversary of when he had ordered Pakistan's first nuclear tests in 1998 as the Prime Minister. Public image and legacy Wealth and conglomerates The industrialisation of the country was bestowed under the watchful eyes of the president Ayub Khan during the most of the 1960s.The industrial sector was destroyed by the nationalisation program of prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in an attempt to secure the capital flight of country's investment to Eastern Europe. This program included the encroachment of Itefaq Group and many other large industries by Bhutto government Although the steel mill was returned in 1980 to Sharif family, but a havoc was already done by the nationalisation policy of the prime minister Bhutto. In 2005, Daily Pakistan reported that Sharif family are the fourth wealthiest family and the second wealthiest political leaders in Pakistan with an estimated net worth of US$ 1.4 billion. The Sharif family is intensively playing their role in the industrial growth of the country and expanding the steel business empire by employing state-of-the-art technology in their steel business in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Middle east.
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