Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore on December 25, 1949. He is the eldest son of late Mian Muhammad Sharif, a joint owner of the Ittefaq Group of Industries.

Nawaz Sharif received early education from Saint Anthony’s High School. After graduating from the Government College Lahore, he obtained LLB degree from the Punjab University.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

During his first term as prime minister, Sharif had fallen out with three successive army chiefs: General Mirza Aslam Beg over the 1991 Gulf War issue; General Asif Nawaz over the ‘operation cleanup’ in Sindh; and with General Waheed Kakar over the Sharif-Ishaq imbroglio.

Nawaz Sharif was a cricketer and played a first class game in the 1973-74 season representing Pakistan Railways.

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.