The 74-year-old is one of the richest men in the United States, having made his fortune through his steel business. (document)
Islamabad:
Three-term Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who never served a full term, is about to make his biggest comeback yet in Thursday’s election.
Fervent supporters call him the “Lion of Punjab” and he is very likely to lead the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party to victory and once again take charge of the nuclear-armed country of 240 million people. .
It’s a far cry from Pakistan’s last election in 2018, when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges and disqualified from holding public office less than three weeks before the vote.
Sharif was granted special bail to seek medical treatment in the UK, but he chose not to return, and after Imran Khan was ousted from power in 2022, Sharif’s brother came to power and pulled the strings from abroad.
The political fortunes of Nawaz Sharif, who often wears a red Gucci scarf, depend on his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, the country’s real kingmaker.
The 74-year-old is one of the richest men in the United States, having made a fortune in the steel industry, but his approachable “land man” demeanor is admired by supporters.
Nawaz Sharif first came to power in 1990 with establishment support but was forced out three years later amid corruption charges – a theme that has dogged him throughout his career.
During his time in power, he spent years in prison or in exile (forced and voluntary) in Saudi Arabia and London (where the Sharif family owns extensive luxury properties), but returned to Pakistan each time with renewed enthusiasm.
Inspired by the nationalization of his family’s steel business, which he later regained control of, Sharif is a fiscal conservative and a champion of economic liberalization and free markets.
He oversaw the privatization of several key state-owned enterprises, including banks and energy producers, in a process that critics said was riven by corruption.
He is also one of the key drivers of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has underpinned ties between Islamabad and Beijing over the past decade.
military coup
He was prime minister when Pakistan declared itself a nuclear power in 1998, followed by India weeks later.
During his time as prime minister, he has been accused of installing loyal judges on the courts, changing the constitution and rigging provincial elections to bolster his party’s power base.
His second term lasted two years, ending in 1999 when he was deposed in a military coup for conspiring to oust Army Chief of Staff Pervez Musharraf.
Nawaz Sharif narrowly escaped being sentenced to death in a hastily convened trial before being exiled.
He returned to power in 2013 after more than a decade, in part because of his brother’s diligent performance as chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province and its most powerful constituency.
But when his children were named in the 2016 Panama Papers leaks for controlling offshore companies, new corruption allegations emerged.
He was later convicted on multiple corruption charges and disqualified from public office for life – the third time he failed to serve a full term.
Less than a year after being sentenced to seven years in prison, he was allowed to travel to the UK to receive medical care but subsequently refused to return.
But Nawaz Sharif’s fortunes started changing last year as Imran Khan fell dramatically out of favor.
A change in the law eased his return by reducing the period during which the lawmaker was banned from running in elections.
In recent weeks, one by one, his convictions have been overturned or revoked, giving the “Lion of Punjab” a chance to roar again.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
