Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then from 1997 to 1999 and later from 2013 to 2017. He is the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures, with each term ending in his ousting.
Born into the middle-class Sharif family in Lahore, Punjab, Nawaz is the son of Muhammad Sharif, the founder of Ittefaq and Sharif groups. Nawaz studied business at Government College and law at the University of Punjab. Nawaz entered into politics in 1981, when he was appointed by President Zia as the minister of finance for the province of Punjab. Backed by a loose coalition of conservatives, Nawaz was elected as the chief minister of Punjab in 1985 and re-elected after the end of martial law in 1988.
Before the 1990 election, Nawaz was appointed as the head of the conservative Islami Jamhuri Ittihad, founded by Lt General Hamid Gul, and became the 12th prime minister of Pakistan with the help of Generals Mirza Aslam Beg, Asad Durrani, and drug barons such as Haji Ayub Afridi. After being ousted in 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly, Nawaz served as the leader of the opposition to the government of Benazir Bhutto from 1993 to 1996. He returned to the premiership after the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) was elected in 1997, and served until his removal in 1999 by military takeover by General Pervez Musharraf. Imprisoned and subject to trial after the coup, Sharif avoided the death penalty as a result of pressure from US president Bill Clinton. He struck a deal with the military establishment, which was brokered by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and went into exile for a period of ten years. In 2007, he violated the agreement and attempted to return to Pakistan but was deported.
After more than a decade, he returned to politics in 2011 and led his party to victory for the third time in 2013. In 2017, Nawaz was again removed from office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan following the Panama Papers case. In 2018, the Pakistani Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz from holding public office, and he was also sentenced to ten years in prison by an accountability court. In 2019, he went to London for medical treatment on bail. He was declared an absconder by a Pakistani court for his failure to return in four weeks; however, the Islamabad High Court later granted him protective bail in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases. In 2023, after four years of exile, he returned to Pakistan and was subsequently acquitted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases by the Islamabad High Court.
He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 29 February 2024. Sharif's victory in NA-130, which is widely regarded as one of Pakistan's most competitive constituencies, has been called into question. An examination of Form 45 conducted by the Pattan Development Organisation and an investigation by Geo TV's Election Cell showed manipulated vote counts, altered turnout statistics, and modified official documents which substantiated claims by the opposition that the election result was tampered with. The evidence suggests the election was rigged in Sharif's favour, undermining the legitimate victory of his opponent Yasmin Rashid. He has been serving as Patron-in-Chief of the Lahore Heritage Revival Authority since 16 March 2025.
Early life and education
thumb|upright=1.2|[[Government College University (Lahore)|Government College University, where Sharif studied business]]
Nawaz was born in Lahore, Punjab, on 25 December 1949. The Sharif family are Punjabi-speaking Kashmiris. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Nawaz's parents migrated from Amritsar to Lahore. Though the Sharif family are known to have strong Barelvi thoughts. His family owns Ittefaq Group, a multimillion-dollar steel conglomerate, and Sharif Group, a conglomerate with holdings in agriculture, transport and sugar mills. He has two younger brothers: Shehbaz Sharif and the late Abbas Sharif, both of whom are politicians.
Nawaz went to Saint Anthony High School. He graduated from the Government College University (GCU) with an art and business degree and then received a law degree from the Law College of Punjab University in Lahore.
Kulsoom, the wife of Nawaz Sharif, had two sisters and a brother. On her mother's side, she was the granddaughter of the famous wrestler, The Great Gama (born Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt). Kulsoom married Nawaz Sharif in April 1970, and together they have four children: Maryam, Asma, Hassan, and Hussain.
Nawaz Sharif attempted to play cricket in 1973 but was dismissed for a duck on the first ball he faced while playing for the Railways team against Pakistan International Airlines.
Imran Khan in his book, Pakistan: A Personal History, recalled an incident before a 1987 Cricket World Cup warm-up match against the West Indies at Gaddafi Stadium. "A few moments before the match started, the cricket board secretary told me that the Chief Minister of Punjab, Nawaz Sharif, would be captaining the team that day," he observed. Although he thought he would not play, Imran was shocked to see that Sharif had walked out to do the toss with Viv Richards in full cricket whites, which included a cricket helmet. Sharif insisted to open the batting. Although Mudassar Nazar was completely ready in protective cricket gear, Sharif was ready to bat with pads, a floppy hat, and "a smile." Imran, concerned for Sharif's safety against the West Indies' formidable pace attack, asked if an ambulance was ready. The match was played on 4 October in 1987. After five bouncers against him, the bowler bowled the sixth ball, which knocked his stumps over as it went through. "The CM was stupefied and most reluctant to leave the ground," Ramiz Raja recalled.
Political career in Punjab
Early political career
Nawaz faced considerable financial challenges when his family's steel business was affected by the nationalisation policies implemented by former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This experience prompted him to pursue a career in politics, By 1976, Nawaz also became a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), a conservative party with deep roots in the Punjab province, contributing to the political landscape of the region.
In May 1980, Ghulam Jilani Khan, the recently appointed military governor of Punjab and a former Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was seeking new urban leaders; he quickly promoted Nawaz, making him finance minister. In 1981, Nawaz joined the Punjab Advisory Council According to personal accounts and his time spent with Nawaz, American historian Stephen P. Cohen states in his 2004 book Idea of Pakistan: "Nawaz Sharif never forgave <!--Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-->Bhutto after his steel empire was lost [...]<!--into the hands of Bhutto; and--> even after [Bhutto's] terrible end, Nawaz publicly refused to forgive the soul of Bhutto or the Pakistan Peoples Party." Nawaz led the Zia-loyalist Fida Group against the Prime Minister's Junejo's Pakistan Muslim League (J). with a substantial role played by Nawaz's ally Gul. In early 1989, the PPP government attempted to unseat Nawaz through a no-confidence motion in the Punjab Assembly, and Asad Durrani, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence, who worked to buy the loyalties of politicians using funds from the country's foreign exchange reserves. Support also came from powerful drug barons such as Haji Ayub Afridi, Haji Mirza Iqbal Beg, and Sharif's own brother-in-law, Sohail Zia Butt. Sharif continued to maintain his ties with Iqbal Beg, who was arrested and subsequently released on bail as a result of his association with Sharif. In 1996, Asghar Khan filed a lawsuit, known as the Asghar Khan case, challenging the results of the 1990 elections, following the discovery of the Mehran bank scandal. Nearly two decades later in 2012, Generals Aslam Beg, Durrani, and Gul, along with banker Yunus Habib, admitted their involvement in manipulating the election. Later that year, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of petitioner Asghar Khan, agreed that the election was rigged, and ordered legal action against those responsible. As of 2025, no one has been held accountable.
Nawaz had campaigned on a conservative platform and vowed to reduce government corruption. He introduced an economy based on privatisation and economic liberalisation to reverse the nationalisation by Zulfikar Bhutto,
Conflicts
Following the imposition and passing of Resolution 660, 661, and 665, Nawaz sided with the United Nations on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Nawaz's government criticised Iraq for invading the fellow Muslim country, which strained Pakistan's relationships with Iraq. The MQM and the PPP opposed Nawaz due to his focus on beautifying Punjab and Kashmir while neglecting Sindh,
The privatisation programme reversed the nationalisation by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto By 1993, around 115 nationalised industries were opened to private ownership, with lesser efforts in Khyber and Balochistan provinces, and no benefits from industrialization in Sindh province. He expanded the nuclear energy program, and continued an atomic programme On 18 April, ahead of the 1993 Parliamentary election, Khan used his reserve powers (58-2b) to dissolve the National Assembly, and with the support of the army appointed Mir Balakh Sher as interim prime minister. Nawaz refused to accept this act and raised a challenge at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On 26 May, the Supreme Court ruled 10–1 that the presidential order was unconstitutional, that the president could dissolve the assembly only if a constitutional breakdown had occurred and that the government's incompetence or corruption was irrelevant.
Issues of authority continued. In July 1993, under pressure from the armed forces, Nawaz resigned under an agreement that also removed President Khan from power. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Shamim Alam Khan and the Chief of Army Staff General Abdul Waheed Kakar forced Khan to resign from the presidency and ended the political standoff. Under the close scrutiny of the Pakistan Armed Forces, an interim and transitional government was formed and new parliamentary election was held after three months. It was hoped that Nawaz would deliver on promises to provide a stable conservative government and improve overall conditions.
Nawaz had formed an alliance with Altaf Hussain of the MQM which fell apart following the assassination of Hakim Said. With the passing of the 14th amendment, Nawaz emerged as the most powerful elected prime minister in the country. after conducting the country's first nuclear weapons tests in response to tests by India. When Western countries suspended foreign aid, Nawaz froze the country's foreign currency reserves and economic conditions worsened. The country became embroiled in conflicts on two borders and Nawaz's long-standing relationships with the military establishment fell apart, so that by mid-1999 few approved of his policies.
Atomic policy
During the 1997 elections, Nawaz promised to follow his policy of nuclear ambiguity while using nuclear energy to stimulate the economy. However, on 7 September, before a state visit to the US, Nawaz acknowledged in a STN News interview that the country had had an atomic bomb since 1978. Nawaz maintained that: