All eyes on Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan today after four years
LAHORE: Three-time Pakistan prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is due to return home on Saturday from exile, eager to make yet another comeback in a country mired in political and economic crisis.
The 73-year-old is one of the nation’s wealthiest men, with a fortune earned in the steel business, but is admired by supporters for his approachable “man of the soil” demeanour.
Sharif’s return comes as his main rival, Imran Khan, is in jail, but the cricketer-turnedpolitician remains popular across Pakistan following his ouster from premiership in 2022. Sharif “will need to reenergize a support base at a moment when the party’s popularity has taken big hits thanks to Imran Khan’s large vote bank,” said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director at The Wilson Centre, Reuters reported.
Oten draped in a red Gucci scarf, his political fortunes have risen and fallen on his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
Fans call him “the Lion of Punjab,” the eastern and most populous province where his support is strongest, and he is known to parade big cats at extravagant political events drumming up support.
Despite a conviction for grat hanging over him, a court this week granted him protective bail until Tuesday — paving the way for a welcome home rally that has been on the cards for months.
Ater four years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, it will be a major test of clout for one of the big personalities of Pakistani politics.
PRIVATE POWER: Sharif is widely believed to have continued pulling the strings of his Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) party, even ater his brother Shahbaz Sharif led them to power last year in a coalition ousting Imran Khan.
Nawaz first took power in 1990 with the blessing of the establishment, but was forced out three years later by corruption allegations — a theme that has dogged his career. He has lived for years in Saudi Arabia and London — where the Sharif family have extensive luxury properties — only to return to Pakistan each time with renewed zeal.
Stung by the nationalisation of the family steel business — which he later regained control of — Sharif is a fiscal conservative and champion of economic liberalisation and free markets.
He oversaw the privatisation of several key state enterprises — including banks and energy producers — in a process critics say was riven by corruption. He was also one of the key drivers of the $60 billion China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that underpins relations between Islamabad and Beijing.
During his various stints as premier he was accused of stacking courts with loyalist judges, tinkering with the constitution, and rigging provincial elections to shore up his party’s power bases.
ROARING BACK: His second reign of power lasted two years and ended in 1999 with him deposed in a military coup ater ploting to sideline his army chief of staff, Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif narrowly avoided the death sentence in a hastily convened trial before being sent into self-imposed exile.
More than a decade later and he was back in power, in part because of his brother’s diligent performance as chief minister of Punjab, regarded Pakistan’s most powerful constituency.
But fresh grat allegations emerged when his children were named in the Panama Papers leak for holding offshore companies. He was later convicted over separate corruption allegations and disqualified from office for life. It was the third time that he failed to complete a full term.
Less than a year into a seven-year prison sentence he was granted permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical care and then declined to return. But with Imran Khan falling spectacularly out of favour with the military, Sharif’s fortunes began to change last year.
His return has been smoothed by legal changes downsizing the period lawmakers can be barred from elections.
Analysts also say there has likely been a deal with the establishment to prevent further court challenges.
But the “Lion of Punjab” must also win over a population weary of dynastic politics and weighed down by economic crisis.
While in exile, Sharif is said to have played a major role in Khan’s ouster and installing a coalition government led by his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, Reuters reported.
Author and analyst Ayesha Siddiqa believes the economy is where Sharif will start his campaign. “He needs a far more robust team to run the economy,” she said, but stressed: “His main task is to wipe out Imran Khan’s memory from people’s minds.”
Sharif’s arrival has kick-started a campaign for general elections slated to be held in the last week of January.
“Nawaz Sharif will revive the economy yet again,” read a banner at a train bringing supporters to a rally which he will address in eastern city of Lahore on Saturday.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif heads back home on Saturday ater four years of self-imposed exile in London, seeking to wrestle back support for his party three months ahead of a general election.
Nawaz’s return comes as his main rival, Imran Khan, is in jail, but the cricketer-turned-politician remains popular across Pakistan following his ouster from premiership in 2022.
Nawaz “will need to reenergise a support base at a moment when the party’s popularity has taken big hits thanks to Imran’s large vote bank,” said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director at The Wilson Centre.
Nawaz, who was ousted in a 1999 coup, is returning to Pakistan for the first time since leaving for London in 2019. He was serving a 14-year prison sentence ater being found guilty in two corruption cases before being allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment for a limited time.
The convictions are still in force in Pakistan, but a court on Thursday barred authorities from arresting Nawaz until Oct.24, which is when he is scheduled to appear in court. His lawyer has said he will contest the convictions.
Nawaz cannot run again for election or hold public office because of his convictions, even though his party has said he aims to become prime minister for a fourth time. Imran, too, is disqualified from the elections by virtue of his conviction in August, which he has appealed.
The 73-year-old Nawaz has said he was ousted at the behest of the country’s powerful military ater he fell out with its top generals, who play an outsized role in the politics of the nuclear-armed South Asian nation. He says the military then backed Imran to help him win the 2018 general election — which both Imran and the military deny.
“For Nawaz, ater the immediate euphoria of his return wears off, he will face an uphill batle. The honeymoon won’t last long,” said Kugelman.
While in exile, Nawaz is said to have played a major role in Imran’s ouster and installing a coalition government led by his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif.
Imran led a relentless campaign against his removal, which helped him win huge public support especially with the coalition government caught in a crippling economic crisis that has seen recordhigh inflation and massive currency depreciation.
Rising living costs have become unbearable for many Pakistanis ater the coalition government had to agree to harsh fiscal adjustments to resume funding from International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had suspended payments ater Imran scutled a deal in his last days in office.