Sharif makes yet another comeback bid

ISLAMABAD: Deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on Sunday, ending his forced exile in Saudi Arabia and hoping to kick-start his chequered career in the politically unstable nation, currently reeling under emergency and ensuing international condemnation.
    
In sharp contrast to the unceremonious reception Sharif received last time in September when he tried to end his seven-year exile, this time the Pakistani government ensured that the return of senior PML-N leader, a likely contender for premiership when polls are held in January, went smoothly.
    
The return of the two-time prime minister this time is apparently under a deal with embattled Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's government, facilitated by the Saudi rulers, and comes nearly a month after his bitter rival Benazir Bhutto also came back to the country after nine years in self-exile.
    
Born on December 25, 1949 in Lahore, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), was twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan but was not able to complete his term on both occasions.
     
His first term was from November 1, 1990 to July 18, 1993. The then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly cutting short his rule. Khan was overruled by the Supreme Court but Sharif chose to resign from office.
   
The second term from February 17, 1997 to October 12, 1999 ended abruptly when he was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup.

His popularity had reached a peak when his government carried out a tit-for-tat atomic tests on May 28, 1998 in response to India's nuclear tests two weeks earlier.
    
Sharif along with his then Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook a major initiative in February 1999 to improve relations between the two countries, marked by Vajpayee's landmark Lahore bus visit.
    
Sharif met Vajpayee at the Wagah border and a joint communique, known as the Lahore Declaration, was signed between the two leaders, which spelled out various steps to be taken by the two countries towards normalising relations.
   
The Kargil fiasco of 1999 was a major embarrassment for his regime, though he claimed that Musharraf was the brain behind the Pakistani Army incursion into the strategic mountainous region of Jammu and Kashmir.
    
After his dramatic overthrow in the military coup, Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly obstructing the landing of a plane carrying Musharraf in 1998.
    
He was "pardoned" as part of a "deal" with the Pakistan government and Saudi royal family after which he was sent to exile in Jeddah along with 20 members of his family.
    
The Sharifs stayed out of media glare until they moved to London last year after Musharraf restored their passports.
    
With Musharraf's hold on power slipping away, Sharif along with his brother Shahbaz appealed to the Supreme Court, headed by reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry, to issue a directive to authorities not to obstruct their return home and the apex court ruled on August 23 that they had an "inalienable right" to stay in Pakistan.
     
Armed by the Supreme Court ruling, Sharif on August 30 announced his return, vowing to topple the embattled General.
    
The former Premier's party is a major constituent of the opposition Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, which is spearheading a campaign against Musharraf holding dual posts of President and Army Chief. But after Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party parted ways, Sharif floated another alliance the All Parties Democratic Movement.
    
Hailing from a wealthy business family which owns the Ittefaq group, Sharif entered politics in 1981 at the age of 30.
     
He first came to national prominence when he was brought into the Punjab government during the early days of General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law, serving as finance minister and then chief minister.
    
Sharif's first term was interrupted on April 18, 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly.
   
Less than six weeks later, the Supreme Court overruled the President, reconstituting the National Assembly and returning Sharif to power on May 26, 1993. Sharif resigned from office along with President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on July 18, 1993, after his feud with the president, who had accused him of corruption.
    
Moin Qureshi became caretaker prime minister, and was succeeded shortly thereafter by Benazir Bhutto, who was elected to office on October 19, 1993.
    
Belying his detractors, Sharif swept back into power in February 1997 with a huge majority.
    
Before the 1999 coup, Sharif appeared to dominate the political landscape. His party had convincing majorities in both houses of parliament, and exerted a powerful hold over all the country's major institutions. But his popularity saw a downslide after he suspended many civil liberties and dismissed Sindh provincial government.

He was accused of cronyism and being too supportive of Punjabi candidates for office, which marginalised his party in the south.
    
With Musharraf deciding to hold elections on January 8 following intense international pressure, Sharif, who was written off by analysts after the 1999 coup, sought to return to the centre stage of Pakistani politics by ending his exile.