(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.
