Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shareef (born December 25, 1949, Lahore) is a former Prime Minister of Pakistan and former leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan's second largest political party. Nawaz Shareef was the Prime Minister of Pakistan three times from 1990 to 1993, 1997 to 1999 and last time from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that, he was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1985 to 1990.
Nawaz Shareef was born into a middle-class Shareef family.
Mian Muhammad Shareef, founder of Ittefaq Group and Shareef Group, is his
father and Shahbaz Shareef, three times Chief Minister of Punjab, is his
brother. Nawaz Shareef studied business at Government College University Lahore
and studied law at Punjab University Law College before entering politics in
the late 1970s.
During the
military rule of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, In 1981, Nawaz Shareef became the Finance
Minister of Punjab. Due to some of his supporters, Nawaz Shareef elected as Chief
Minister of Punjab during General Zia-Ul-Haq Era, but was re-elected in 1988
after martial law. In 1990, he headed the Islamic Democratic Union, which was
won and became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The 1st Shareef
administration was sacked by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on corruption, on
which Nawaz Shareef approached the Supreme Court. On June 15, 1993, Chief
Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, Naseem Hassan Shah reinstated Mian Muhammad Nawaz
Shareef. Nawaz Shareef resigned from his postion as prime minister of Pakistan
in July 1993 under agreement that forced the president to resign. But he was
re-elected in February 1997 by a landslide. He was removed from his position as
a prime Minister of Pakistan in October 1999 in a military coup which was led
by General Pervez Musharraf (chief of army).
Personal life and education:
Nawaz Shareef was born on December 25, 1949 in Lahore,
Punjab to a Kashmiri Shareef family. Nawaz Shareef's mother was from Pulwama.
His father Mian Muhammad Shareef was a Kashmiri industrialist and businessman
who belonged to Anantnag district of Kashmir. After migrating from there he
went to Jati Umrah, Amritsar and started a business there. Movement led by
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Pakistan was going on, as a result of which when Pakistan
became independent in 1947, they moved from Amritsar to Lahore. Mian Muhammad Shareef
was initially influenced by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, but later he turned to non-imitation.
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shareef started his early education from St. Anthony's High
School, Lahore. After graduating from Government College, Lahore, he obtained a
degree in Law (Advocacy) from Punjab University.
Political history:
Nawaz Shareef's political training took place in the shadow
of Pakistan's military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. He remained in the
Punjab government for a long time under Zia-ul-Haq. After being part of the
Punjab Provincial Council for some time, he joined the Punjab Provincial
Cabinet in 1981 as the Finance Minister. He succeeded in bringing the share of
rural development in the annual development program of the province to 70%. He
was also the Minister of Sports and reorganized sports activities in the
province.
In the 1985 non-partisan elections under the dictatorship, Nawaz Shareef won a landslide victory in the National and Provincial Assemblies. On April 9, 1985, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab. On May 31, 1988, General Zia-ul-Haq dismissed the Junejo government, but Nawaz Shareef was retained as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab. This indicates a close ceremony of Nawaz Shareef with General Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia-ul-Haq once prayed to Nawaz Shareef to come of age.
When General Jilani used secret funds and distributed money to defeat the PPP in 1988, Nawaz Shareef also took full advantage of it. He formed the Islamic Democratic Alliance at the behest of General Jilani and with the funds provided. Through this open rigging, Nawaz Shareef was re-elected Chief Minister in the 1988 elections. During this period they made great progress in Murree and Kahuta.
As a Prime Minister:
Nawaz Shareef was sworn in as Prime Minister-elect on
November 6, 1990, when his party, the Islamic Democratic Union, won the October
1990 elections. However, as a prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz
Shareef failed to complete his five years term and was fired by president.
Although Pakistan's Supreme Court reinstated him after a constitutional
lawsuit, he had to resign in July 1993, along with the president. During his
tenure as Prime Minister, efforts were made to strengthen the country's industry
in collaboration with the private sector.
Projects like Ghazi Brotha and Gwadar Port were started. Lands were distributed among the landless farmers of Sindh. Relations of Pakistan with Central Asian Muslim countries were strengthened. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been promoted. Assistance in resolving the Afghan crisis was provided and various Afghan factions signed the "Islamabad Agreement". An important feature of his administration was the achievement of economic growth despite the US sanctions imposed under the Pressler Amendment. In October 1999, Nawaz Shareef tried to remove the then army chief Pervez Musharraf and appoint a new army chief. This sincere attempt to reduce the role of the army in national politics became a disaster for him and his government was overthrown after an army coup.
Exile:
He was tried by the military after his government was
overthrown, in what became known as the "Plane Conspiracy Case". It
included charges of kidnapping and murder. He left for Saudi Arabia following a
secret agreement with the military. In 2006, he signed the Charter of Democracy
with Benazir Bhutto and reiterated his commitment to overthrow the military
government. On August 23, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Shareef
family, rejecting the government's objection to their repatriation and allowing
the entire family to return home.
Emergency:
After the imposition of emergency, Nawaz Shareef and his
family reached Lahore on November 25, 2007 as a result of pressure on Pervez
Musharraf of Saudi Arabia.
2013 elections:
In the 2013 general elections, the PML-N won a clear
majority. On this basis, he became the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third
time.
FIR:
With the intervention of Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Shareef during the Revolutionary March, 14 people were killed and more than 90 were seriously injured in the Model Town tragedy, including the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shareef. An FIR was registered against 9 persons for murder.
Panama Documents (Pakistan):
Panama Documents Case Panama Case (Official Name Imran Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shareef) or Panama Gate Scandal is a case pending in the Supreme Court of Pakistan which was heard from November 1, 2016 to January 23, 2017. The case was brought to the court by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, who filed the case against Nawaz Shareef on charges of money laundering, bribery and contradictory statements. The allegations were made after Panama documents revealed links between the Shareef family and eight foreign companies.
The court reserved its decision on February 23, 2017. This
case became the most famous in the history of Pakistan, it is also called the
turning point in Pakistani history.
The court ruled on April 20, 2017, to form a joint investigation team to investigate allegations of bribery against the Shareef family in the light of the Panama Lakes. On July 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed Nawaz Shareef from the post of Prime Minister and ordered his allies to start trial.
Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef:
The final verdict in this largest case in the history of the
country was presided over by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in Room No. 1 of the
Supreme Court. A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court comprising
Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and
Justice Gulzar Ahmed delivered the statement.
The judges consulted in their chambers before the verdict was announced.
A five-member bench of the apex court headed by senior judge
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa initially referred to the April 20 verdict, after
which Justice Ijaz Afzal read out the verdict, under which the five judges
unanimously dismissed Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef Disqualified۔
