The genesis of Sharif’s political career occurred in Punjab. As the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, he was first elected as Pakistan’s Prime Minister in October 1990. He ushered economic reforms, privatised a legion of state-owned businesses and endorsed Pakistan’s security against a nuclear India, defying US mandates.
The degraded economy, the ballooning foreign debts, the ongoing dispute with India, rampant corruption and separatist revolutions engorged Sharif into ruling debacles. He was overthrown by Musharraf and was soon tried on charges of terrorism. In 2000, he went into exile for ten years.
Sharif made a spectacular resurgence in 2013, obtaining a third term as Prime Minister until being forced to resign in 2017 after the leaked Panama papers proved Sharif and his children unofficially own foreign companies and properties.
