Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif Essay Example for Free

Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif Essay During his second term, he notably ordered Pakistans first nuclear tests in response to Indias nuclear tests. [1] He was ousted in an October 1999 military coup by Pervez Musharraf. He returned to Pakistan in late 2007 after eight years of forced exile. He successfully called for Musharrafs impeachment and the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He is a potent force in Pakistani politics. Early life and Education Originally, his family came from the village of Heera mandi His family moved to Lahore before the creation of Pakistan for better farmland. 2] His family also traces their roots to Shopian in the Kashmir valley. [3] He was born in Lahore, Pakistan on December 25, 1949, a year after the nations founding. He came from a family of scrap traders. His father and uncles had a small steel business named as Ittefaq in Landa Bazar Lahore before the creation of Pakistan. He attended St. Anthonys School Lahore. However, he along with his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif later on attended Pakistan Railway High School, Moghalpura, and Lahore. Both passed Matric from this school in 1964 and 1965 respectively. Nawaz Sharif got admission in the Government College of Lahore. He obtained his B. A. degree after appearing in the supplementary examination. He attained his Bachelor of Law degree from the Punjab University Law College, which is also in Lahore. Business enterprise: Ittefaq Group He is a joint owner of Ittefaq Group. Ittefaq Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in Pakistan. He helped establish the Ittefaq Islamic Academy in Lahore, where students receive religious instruction in addition to their secular training. A practicing Muslim, Sharif comes from a religious family and has said he would make the teaching of the Quran, the Muslim Holy Book, a compulsory subject up to the secondary level. He appeared in one 1st class cricket match from Pakistan Railway against Karachi in 1974 where he scored a duck. He and his cousins expanded their family iron foundry. They lost control of their business in the 1972 nationalization by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It was re-established in 1977 as Ittefaq Industries in Lahore. The business was returned after Sharif developed political links with President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq. By 1990, Ittefaq Industries was one of Pakistans most affluent conglomerates, with more than $450 million in annual revenues, up from about $16 million in 1981. It included the countrys largest private steel mill, Ittefaq Foundries (Pvt) Ltd, eight sugar mills, and four textile factories. Sharifs net worth is around US $4 billion. With upwards of hundred thousand employees, Ittefaq Group has played a significant role in the development and growth of industry in Pakistan. It has likely influenced Sharifs political career and pro-business stance as well. Initial Political Career He principally rose to political prominence as a staunch proponent of the military government of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq during the 1980s. He maintained an alliance with Rahimuddin Khan. He also had ties with ISI Director-General Hamid Gul, who played a substantial role in the formation of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad- a conservative political alliance that supported Sharif. citation needed] Punjab Advisory Council In 1981, he initially joined as a member of the Punjab Advisory Council under President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. He served as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Sports under the provincial government of Punjab. During his tenure, he was credited with increasing funding for sports activities and rural projects. He also wanted to continue the peaceful nuclear atomic program and to make Pakistan a truly Islamic state and to do so he introduced Islamic Laws such as the Shariat Ordinance and Bait-ul-Maal (to help poor orphans widows etc); Moreover he gave tasks to the Ministry of Religious Affairs to prepare reports and recommendations for steps taken for Islamization. He ensured the establishment of three committees. 1) Ittehad-e-bain-ul-Muslemeen 2) Nifaz-e-Shariat Committee 3) Islamic Welfare Committee He believed in forming a Muslim Bloc by uniting all Central Asian Muslim Countries thus he extended the membership of ECO to all Central Asian Countries. Nawaz Sharif was pretty confident that he had majority in the assembly thus he ruled with considerable confidence. He had disputes with three successive army chiefs. He contended with General Mirza Aslam Beg over the 1991 Gulf War, with General Asif Nawaz over the Sindh Operation Clean-Up issue, and with General Abdul Waheed Kakar over the Sharif-Ishaq Imbroglio. To diffuse the tension him and Benazir and to disperse the long march he promised her to release her detained husband and to abolish the Eighth amendment her Party’s co-operation (PPP). Ghulam took this as an attack on him by the ruling party so in order to win the presidential election he on April 1993, with the support of the Pakistan Army, used his reserve powers to dissolve the National Assembly and appointed Mir Balakh Sher Mazari as the Caretaker Prime Minister. In May 1993, Sharif returned to power after the Supreme Court ruled that the Presidential Order as unconstitutional and reconstituted the National Assembly. In July 1993, Sharif resigned under pressure from the military but negotiated a settlement that resulted in the removal of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Moin Qureshi became Caretaker Prime Minister. He was succeeded shortly thereafter by Benazir Bhutto in October 1993. Second term as Prime Minister U. S. Defense Secretary, William S. Cohen, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at the Pentagon, 3 December 1998. He was elected Prime Minister in 1997 to serve a non-consecutive second term. [7] In August 1997, he passed the controversial Anti-Terrorist Act which established Anti-Terrorism Courts. The Supreme Court later rendered the Act unconstitutional. In 1999, he met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Wagah border and signed a joint communique, known as the Lahore Declaration. [8] 1998 Pakistans nuclear tests Pakistans nuclear tests were an important turning point in his political career. Pakistan carried out its successful nuclear tests on 28 May 1998, and on 30 May 1998, in response to the Indian detonation of five nuclear devices roughly two weeks before. When India tested its nuclear arsenal a second time, it caused a great alarm in Pakistan. After weeks of anticipation, Pakistan surprised the world by conducting its own nuclear tests. Sharif proclaimed an emergency on the same day as these nuclear tests were conducted. All the foreign currency accounts in Pakistani banks were frozen to minimize the effects of economic sanctions. Nawaz put the Pakistan Armed Forces on high alert in order to defend countrys nuclear installations. He justified the tests on national security grounds, as they demonstrated Pakistans nuclear deterrent capabilities against an armed Indian nuclear program. Under Nawaz Sharifs leadership, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and seventh nation to become a nuclear power. Constitution Amendment In late August 1998, he proposed a law to establish a legal system based on the Islamic principles. [9] His proposal came a week after 10-year commemorations of the late President Zia ul-Haq. The Cabinet removed some of its controversial aspects. [10][11] The National Assembly approved and passed the bill on 10 October 1998 by 151 votes to 16. 12] However, the amendment failed to achieve two-thirds majority in the Senate. Weeks afterward, Sharifs government would suffer a military coup. Relations with the military During his second tenure, he removed General Karamat over the National Security Council disputes. He later had severe political confrontation with General Musharraf that resulted in a coup detat which removed him from office. At the end of General Waheed’s three-year term in January 1996, General Jehangir Karamat was appointed army chief. His term was due to end on 9 January 1999. In October 1998, however, Sharif fell out with General Karamat over the latter’s advocacy of the need for the creation of a National Security Council. Sharif interpreted this move to be a conspiracy to return the military to a more active role in Pakistani politics. In October 1998, General Karamat resigned and Sharif appointed General Pervez Musharraf as army chief. During the Kargil War in 1999, he claimed to have no knowledge of the planned attacks, saying that Pervez Musharraf acted alone. [13] Military coup Further information: 1999 Pakistani coup detat On 12 October 1999, Sharif attempted to remove Pakistan Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf and appoint Ziauddin Butt in his place. Musharraf, who was in Sri Lanka, attempted to return through a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Sharif ordered Sindh IG Rana Maqbool to arrest of Chief of Army Staff and Musharraf. He ordered the Karachi Airport to be sealed off to prevent the landing of the Musharrafs airliner fearing a coup detat. Sharif ordered the plane to land at Nawab Shah Airport. Musharraf contacted top Pakistan Army Generals who then took over the country and ousted Sharifs administration. Musharraf later assumed control of the government as Chief Executive. [14] Trial The military placed him on trial for kidnapping, attempted murder, hijacking and terrorism. The military court quickly convicted him and gave him a life sentence. [15] Under an agreement facilitated by Saudi Arabia, Sharif was placed in exile for the next 10 years. Return to Pakistan Failed Attempt in Islamabad On August 23, 2007, Pakistans top court ruled Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz, were free to return. Both vowed to return soon. [16][17] On 8 September 2007, Lebanese politician Saad Hariri and Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz addressed an unprecedented joint press conference at Army House to discuss how Sharifs return would affect relations. [18] Muqrin stated that the initial agreement was for 10 years but these little things do not affect relations. † [18] Muqrin expressed hope that Sharif would continue with the agreement. [18] On 10 September 2007, Sharif returned from exile in London [18] to Islamabad. Post-2008 elections His party had joined a coalition led by PPP but the alliance had been strained by differences over the fate of judges Musharraf dismissed last year and over how to handle the unpopular president. [31] Sharif won much public support for his uncompromising stand against Musharraf and for his insistence the judges be reinstated. [31] The coalition successfully forced Musharrafs resignation. He also successfully pressured Zardari for the reinstatement of judges removed by Musharraf in emergency rule. This led to the courts cleansing Sharif of a criminal record rendering him eligible to re-enter parliament. [32] By-Elections In June 2008 by-elections, Sharifs party won three National Assembly seats and eight provincial assembly seats, all but one in the countrys political nerve center of Punjab province, where Shahbaz Sharif heads the provincial government. [33] The Lahore seat election was postponed because of wrangling over whether Sharif was eligible to contest. [31] [34] 2008 Musharraf impeachment On 7 August 2008, the coalition government agreed to impeach Musharraf.