Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is one of the eminent political leaders and founder of the well-known political party Pakistan Muslim League N of Pakistan.
Biography
Nawaz Sharif was born to a business-oriented family on December 25, 1949. His family was upper middle class. His father’s name was Muhammad Sharif. Muhammad Sharif was the founder of the Ittefaq and Sharif groups.
Shahbaz Sharif is Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother. Shahbaz Sharif became Prime Minister in 2022 after the regime change of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Having a lasting and influential career in Pakistani politics, he has been given the chance thrice to improve the development of Pakistan as a prime minister.
Family Background
Nawaz Sharif belongs to a Kashmiri family with a great business background, particularly Ittefaq Group. Ittefaq Group was a small steel business that has now been developed into many industries. It was established by his father, Muhammad Sharif.
His family members include his father, Muhammad Sharif; his mother, Shamim Akhtar; his wife Kalsoom Nawaz (late), brother Shehbaz Sharif and his children, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz. His sons are more interested in business, while his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, has been a prominent figure in his party, PMLN.
His brother, Shehbaz Sharif, has been involved in politics and is a prominent member of PMLN too. He has been given the chance to be the Chief Minister several times, resulting in many advancements, especially in the fields of education, infrastructure and health.
Education
Nawaz Sharif started his schooling at Saint Anthony High School. Later, he joined Government College (GCU now) and completed his art and business degree. He joined the Punjab University Law College and completed his degree in Law.
His legal education and foundational understanding laid the foundation of his bright political and business career. He was involved in his family business in his early life stages.
PMLN
In 1988, after the death of General Zia Ul Haq, Fida Mohammad Khan made a conservative alliance by separating a large pool of politicians from the Pakistan Muslim League led by Junejo.
The alliance succeeded in forming a government under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif in 1990. However, in 1993, Nawaz Sharif dissolved the partnership and formed a party with his name called the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN).
Political Journey
Nawaz Sharif entered politics as an eminent figure in the 1980s. He was appointed Finance Minister of Punjab in 1981 and then the Chief Minister of Punjab in 1985. His political career led to no bounds when he joined PMLN and was selected to be the Prime Minister in the 1990s.
Nawaz Sharif has been given chances three times to prove his personality as a Prime Minister. The first tenure was from November 1990 to July 1993. The second tenure was dated February 1997 to October 1999. The third and last tenure was from June 2013 to July 2017.
Economic Initiatives and Projects
He was concerned about privatisation and infrastructure development whenever he was a Prime Minister. He introduced economic reforms. The most significant reform he made was in nuclear power generation.
In his era, Pakistan was declared a nuclear atomic state. In 1998, Pakistan’s nuclear test was the result of an Indian nuclear test, which was the effort of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan under the supervision of Nawaz Sharif.
When he was selected again for the PM seat, his focus was on energy and deregulation. He has led to improvements in infrastructure in all his tenures. In his third era as a prime minister, inflation was controlled to a certain limit than before in Pakistan.
His political journey as a prominent personality in Pakistan’s politics has been a mix of rises and downfalls, successes and controversies.
Relations with the Military
Nawaz Sharif has excellent relations with the Pakistan Army. However, his clashes started with Army Staff General Jehangir Karamat. As a result, General Karamat was forced to resign three months before the end of his job. The incident left a bad impact on the Pakistan Army against Nawaz.
In response, Nawaz Sharif made General Pervez Musharraf the new army chief. Musharraf also became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Admiral Fasih Bokhari protested against the decision and resigned.
The Nawaz and Army relations became worse day by day. Even the clashes started between Nawaz Sharif and Pervaiz Musharraf, to whom Nawaz promoted out of the way.
Finally, in 1999, Musharraf arrested Nawaz Sharif and imposed martial Law in the country. Later, with the involvement of Saudi officials and after some agreement, Nawaz Sharif moved to Saudi Arabia.
Allegations
Nawaz Sharif was accused of corruption. The Panama Papers were leaked in 2016, which revealed undisclosed offshore assets and ownership of luxury apartments in London. Sharif’s family was convicted of legal challenges and investigations in the case above. In 2017, he was disqualified from the office with respect to the Panama case.
No doubt, he led to great infrastructure development, but more focus on this development resulted in ignorance of social issues like poverty, health and education.
His era faced security issues. Terrorism was aroused, which was mainly the attacks by military groups. Security is the fundamental component of society, and a threat to it can lead to the destruction of societies.
In 1999, a conflict between the Pakistan-India military and the Cargill conflict resulted in his removal from office and government. His family was considered blameworthy for owning assets beyond their income.
In 2018, Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law, Mr Safdar, were convicted of the Avenfield reference case concerning ownership of luxury apartments in London. Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to prison, and his daughter and son-in-law were sentenced too.
Nawaz Sharif faced serious health issues. In January 2022, he was in the United Kingdom for his treatments.
Conclusion
To conclude, Nawaz Sharif’s political journey, as a whole, is a blend of ups and downs. His supporters support him for being productive in stabilising the economy and infrastructure projects, while critics are against him considering the facts and allegations of corruption and deceit.