- Title: File footage of former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif
- Date: 6th July 2018
- Summary: PUNJAB, PAKISTAN (FILE -1997) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CROWD CHEERING SHARIF ADDRESSING RALLY CROWD WAVING SHARIF'S PARTY FLAGS CHEERING AND CHANTING LAHORE, PAKISTAN (FILE - FEBRUARY 1997) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SHARIF CASTING VOTE ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (FILE - 1998) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) SHARIF WALKING TO HIS O
- Embargoed: 20th July 2018 12:51
- Keywords: Nawaz Sharif profile chronology prime minister Pakistan court hearing Supreme Court
- Location: FAISALABAD, ISLAMABAD, PUNJAB, LAHORE, KARACHI, PAKISTAN / UFA, RUSSIA / WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: FAISALABAD, ISLAMABAD, PUNJAB, LAHORE, KARACHI, PAKISTAN / UFA, RUSSIA / WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0038NMO2F9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Nawaz Sharif is Pakistan's longest-serving prime minister, having held the post a total of three times. He first rose to power in 1990, serving as premier until 1993. His second term was from 1997 to 1999 and his third term was from 2013 until he was disqualified from office by the Supreme Court in 2017. Earlier, he had also served as chief minister of Punjab between 1985 and 1990.
Sharif was born in Lahore, Punjab on 25 December 1949. He studied at the Government College University and the Law College of Punjab University. His family, under the Ittefaq Group and Sharif Group, has business dealings in the steel, agriculture and transport industries.
Sharif was chosen as Pakistan's prime minister-elect in November 1990, and vowed not to harass his ousted predecessor Benazir Bhutto, whom he defeated at the polls. His first administration came to an end when he was dismissed in 1993, clearing the way for opposition leader Bhutto to form a government.
After serving as the leader of the opposition between 1993 and 1996, Sharif made a victorious return to power in Pakistan's 1997 elections. Strengthened by a big election win in 1997, Sharif tightened his grip. He cracked down on the media and amended the constitution to strip the president of power to dissolve the National Assembly.
Sharif's attempt to fire Pervez Musharraf as army chief ultimately cost him his job in 1999. Musharraf orchestrated a bloodless coup d'état, overthrowing Sharif's administration and sending him to jail. Sharif was later taken from prison and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Sharif's two terms as prime minister in the 1990s were marred by allegations of graft and he also ordered Pakistan's first nuclear tests in 1998.
Sharif made a triumphant comeback 14 years later in Pakistan's 2013 election, taking his third term as prime minister. The elections were a landmark, marking the first time an elected government in the country replaced another, and many hoped it might also break the hold of dynastic politicians in a country struggling with years of misrule and corruption.
However, Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from office in July 2017, over unreported income from a company owned by his son in Dubai. The court also ordered a criminal investigation into him and his family. Sharif described the court case as a political vendetta by opposition leader Imran Khan.
In February 2018, the Supreme Court ordered Sharif to be removed as head of the political party he founded -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawas - six months after the court removed him as premier.
During his terms in power, Sharif oversaw a stuttering Pakistani economy, plagued by chronic power cuts and crippling key industries. Corruption and poverty were also considered rampant in the country. And Sharif's biggest challenge had been tackling spiralling terrorism in the country. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None