By Shivam Patel
(Reuters) – Nawaz Sharif, whose three terms as prime minister of Pakistan were marred by corruption allegations and standoffs with the powerful military, is expected to return home on Saturday from self-imposed exile.
Following are some facts about the veteran politician:
– Sharif, 73, did not complete any of his three terms as prime minister in 1990-93, 1997-99, and 2013-17. He was removed as premier by a military-backed president in 1993, ousted in a coup in 1999, and disqualified by a court in 2017.
– Sharif was born to a family of industrialists, made his money in steel manufacturing and grew the family-run Ittefaq Group.
– He entered politics in the late 1970s and was picked as finance minister of Punjab in 1981.
– He was known to have close ties with the generals, impressing them with policies that spurred economic growth in Punjab, and was groomed by military dictator Zia ul-Haq. With the generals’ backing, he became the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous and prosperous province in 1985.
– In 1990, Sharif won a general election and became prime minister for the first time, succeeding Pakistan’s first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, whose government was dismissed by the then president on charges of corruption.
– In 1993, Sharif ran afoul of the then-president who dismissed his government on charges of nepotism and corruption. The Supreme Court later restored his rule but Sharif and the president failed to reconcile and both resigned.
– In a 1997 general election, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) rode to victory and he became prime minister for a second time.
– Pakistan conducted its first test of a nuclear weapon in May 1998 under Sharif’s leadership, in response to arch-rival India which conducted its second nuclear weapon test just days before.
– Sharif was also prime minister when Indian and Pakistani forces battled, between May and July 1999, in Kargil, in the disputed Kashmir region.
– He fell out with the then army commander, General Pervez Musharraf, in late 1999 and was ousted in a military coup. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment and went into exile in Saudi Arabia. He returned to Pakistan in 2007.
– Sharif fought a bitter contest with rival Imran Khan, the former cricket hero turned politician, in a 2013 general elections and won, becoming prime minister for a third time.
– Attempting to normalise relations with India, Sharif launched trade talks in 2014. The following year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Pakistani city of Lahore to meet Sharif.
– In 2017, Sharif was removed as prime minister through a court verdict following a corruption investigation related to the Panama papers revelations. In July 2018, Pakistan’s anti-graft court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for corruption.
– In December 2018, Sharif was convicted on graft charges in a separate case and sentenced to seven years in prison. He denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated.
– Sharif was released on medical bail in October 2019 and left Pakistan weeks later but he remained active in politics from London, where he has been based.
(Reporting by Shivam Patel; Editing by Robert Birsel)
