NAWAZ SHARIF LIFE HISTORY
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, MP (Urdu: میاں محمد نواز شریف, pronounced [nəˈʋaːz ʃəˈriːf]; born 25 December 1949)[1] is the 20th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since June 2013. A veteran politician, he previously served as the Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1999.[2][3][4]
Born into a wealthy Sharif family in Lahore, he is the son of Ittefaq Group founder Muhammad Sharif, and the older-brother of three-time elected Punjab Chief Minister, Shehbaz. Sharif studied business at Government College and later law at the University of Punjab before entering politics in the later 1970s. In 1981, Sharif was appointed by the military government as the Minister of Finance for the province of Punjab. Backed by a loose coalition of conservatives, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab in 1985 and re-elected after the end of martial law in 1988. In 1990, Sharif led a conservative alliance to victory, leading him to become the Prime Minister. Investigation into the election would later revel that the election was rigged in favour of Sharif by the Pakistani intelligence through channeling millions of rupees into his election campaign.[5]
Sharif's first administration came to an end when then President Ghulam attempted to dismiss Sharif on corruption charges. Sharif successfully challenged the dismissal in the Supreme Court,[6] but both men were ultimately persuaded to step down in 1993 by army chief Waheed.[6] Sharif served as Leader of the Opposition between 1993 and 1996 and led the Muslim League to a supermajority in the National Assembly.[7] His government amendment the constitution to restrict's the powers of the presidency to dismiss governments.[8] His second administration is notable for holding Pakistan's first nuclear tests in response to neighbouring India's second nuclear tests as part of the tit-for-tat policy.[9]
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.[10][11] With rising unemployment and record foreign debt,[12] Sharif's second term also saw tussles with the judiciary and the military. Sharif also forcibly relieved General Karamat from command and replaced him with Musharraf in 1998.[12] However, Kargil War deteriorated his relations with Musharraf. When he attempted to relieve Musharraf from his command on the 12th of October 1999, the military instead ousted Sharif's government, exiling him to Saudi Arabia.[12]
Sharif returned to Pakistan in 2007, and formed the parliamentary opposition after the 2008 elections. In 2013 elections, Sharif's Muslim League received received a simple parliamentary majority and subsequently Sharif was elected to the Prime Minister's Office.[13][14] Sharif's third term has brought macroeconomic stability with the help of substantial loans from IMF, and signed multi-billion investment deals with China.[15] On security front, the military in 2015 launched an offensive to remove extremist groups in northwestern Pakistan.[16][17] Sharif has faced criticism over rising sovereign debt.[18][19] Sharif's third term is also underpinned by social centrism rather than the social conservatism, which guided his prior two terms.