In this Feb. 20, 1999 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, left, receives Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Wagah border near Lahore, Pakistan.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif on May 28 admitted that Islamabad had “violated” an agreement with India signed by him and ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil intrusion by Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that Vajpayee Saheb came here and made an agreement with us. But we violated that agreement…it was our fault,” Mr. Sharif told a meeting of the PML-N general council that elected him president of the ruling party six years after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

Also read | Vajpayee, Sharif spoke over phone in the midst of Kargil War, says book

Mr. Sharif and Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration on February 21, 1999, after a historic summit. The agreement that talked about a vision of peace and stability between the two countries signalled a major breakthrough, but a few months later Pakistani intrusion in the Kargil district in Jammu and Kashmir led to the Kargil War.

“President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan $5 billion to stop it from carrying out nuclear tests but I refused. Had [former prime minister] Imran Khan like a person been on my seat he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Mr. Sharif said on a day when Pakistan marked the 26th anniversary of its first nuclear tests.

Mr. Sharif (74) talked about how he was removed from the office of the prime minister in 2017 on a false case by then chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar. He said all cases against him were false while the cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder leader Imran Khan were true.

He also talked about the role of former ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam in toppling his government in 2017 to bring Imran Khan into power. He asked Imran Khan to deny that he was not launched by the ISI.

“I ask Imran not to blame us [of being patronised by the army] and tell whether Gen Islam had talked about bringing the PTI into power,” he said and added Khan would sit at the feet of the military establishment.

The three-time premier talked about receiving a message from Gen Islam to resign from the office of Prime Minister [in 2014]. “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me,” he said.

Mr. Sharif also praised his younger brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for standing by his side through thick and thin. “Efforts were made to create differences between us but Shehbaz remained loyal to me. Even Shehbaz was asked to become PM in the past and leave me but he declined,” he said.

Mr. Sharif said after assuming the office of the PML-N President he would renew efforts to strengthen the party.

Lahore:

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday admitted that Islamabad had “violated” an agreement with India signed by him and ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil misadventure by Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that Vajpayee Saheb came here and made an agreement with us. But we violated that agreement…it was our fault,” Sharif told a meeting of the PML-N general council that elected him president of the ruling party six years after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

After a historic summit here, Nawaz Sharif and Ata Bihari Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration on February 21, 1999. The agreement that talked about a vision of peace and stability between the two countries signalled a breakthrough. Still, a few months later Pakistani intrusion in the Kargil district in Jammu and Kashmir led to the Kargil conflict.

“President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan USD 5 billion to stop it from carrying out nuclear tests but I refused. Had (former prime minister) Imran Khan like a person been on my seat he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said on a day when Pakistan marked the 26th anniversary of its first nuclear tests.

Sharif, 74, talked about how he was removed from the office of the prime minister in 2017 on a false case by then Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar. He said all cases against him were false while the cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder leader Imran Khan were true.

He also talked about the role of former ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam in toppling his government in 2017 to bring Imran Khan into power. He asked Imran Khan to deny that he was not launched by the ISI.

“I ask Imran not to blame us (of being patronised by the army) and tell whether Gen Islam had talked about bringing the PTI into power,” he said and added Khan would sit at the feet of the military establishment.

The three-time premier talked about receiving a message from Gen Islam to resign from the office of prime minister (in 2014). “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me,” he said.

Sharif also praised his younger brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for standing by his side through thick and thin. “Efforts were made to create differences between us but Shehbaz remained loyal to me. Even Shehbaz was asked to become PM in the past and leave me but he declined,” he said.

Sharif said after assuming the office of the PML-N President he would renew efforts to strengthen the party. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Islamabad:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif accused Pakistan Tareek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan of ‘backstabbing’ him in 2013 by carrying out protest rallies despite assuring him of cooperation after elections, reported Dawn.

Addressing a meeting of the PML-N’s Central Working Committee (CWC) in Lahore, Nawaz said upon assuming power in 2013, he visited Imran at his residence in Banigala and they agreed on a working relationship for the country’s sake.

Nawaz further said Imran, thereafter, went to London along with other political leaders where a “plot was hatched” as per which protests were launched in the country upon the latter’s return, Dawn reported.

Nawaz said he was left befuddled by the development, adding that he should have been informed about the matter or whatever the PTI’s reservations were, according to the report.

“I visit you and you stab me in the back by assuring cooperation, and then you begin protests in Islamabad’s D-Chowk?” Dawn quoted Nawaz as saying.

He added that his cabinet also called for a crackdown on the protests by the police but he asked them to desist, Dawn reported.

The former PM added that it was a ‘matter of record’ that his government had not impeded the formation of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the 2013 elections, despite being in the position to do so through a coalition.

“We call for accountability of those who destroyed and ruined Pakistan,” the PML(N) chief said.

Urging the people to take a judgment call on which political party had served them the best, Nawaz said they should consider these aspects before casting their votes.

“I have the right to ask my nation this question: What do you think, before voting, about Nawaz Sharif’s performance was and what was that of his opponents?…the nation should answer this. I have a slight complaint with the nation as well. A prime minister is removed in a false case of not taking a salary from his son and the nation stays silent, this is not right,” the former PM said.

Addressing the meeting, Nawaz said false cases against the party were ‘exposed’.

Lauding the performance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he also predicted a turnaround in the country’s fortunes going forward, according to Dawn.

Speaking before him, the PM said he was at peace with stepping down as the PML(N) chief and wanted his brother to assume the party’s presidency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lahore, Pakistan:

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said he had an audio recording of former chief justice Saqib Nisar in which he is allegedly heard saying to oust him and to bring in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan.

Demanding action against those judges of the Supreme Court involved in his ouster as the prime minister in 2017, the 74-year-old three-time former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo also expressed his disappointment over the attitude of the people of Pakistan towards him and his party.

He was addressing a party meeting in Lahore on Saturday in which it was decided that he would be re-elected as the party president on May 28.

Nawaz Sharif was removed from the office of the party president after he was disqualified as Prime Minister in 2017 in the Panama Papers-related corruption cases. His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif then took the helm of the party before resigning from the post last week.

Decrying his disqualification, Nawaz Sharif said nowhere in the world do judges send a prime minister home on phoney charges.

“I want to ask why I was ousted from the PM office,” he said and disclosed that he had with him an audio proof of former CJP Nisar in which he was heard saying, “We have to remove Nawaz Sharif to bring in Imran Khan as premier.” “A case should be initiated against retired Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi for making huge assets and also other judges involved in this conspiracy,” he said. The PML-N supremo also demanded an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this conspiracy against him and his government.

Not happy with the people of Pakistan for not voting for his party in the February 8 general elections, Nawaz Sharif said, “I ask the people… do you think while giving votes. I need an answer from the nation.” Similarly, he said he was unhappy with the nation as it stood silent when he was illegally removed from the office of the prime minister.

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes to become the prime minister for a record fourth time after returning to Pakistan from a four-year self-imposed exile in London last October were dashed as Imran Khan’s party despite fighting elections without its electoral symbol of a ‘cricket bat’ emerged victorious.

However, Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N made a six-party coalition government and Shehbaz Sharif, who calls himself a darling of the military establishment, became the prime minister. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Islamabad:

A Pakistan High Court on Thursday admitted former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction in two corruption cases, his lawyer said.

The decision will allow Nawaz Sharif to contest his sentences, which have been pending since his ouster as premier in 2017, in the High Court.

The court has admitted the appeals, which is a way forward to fight against the convictions, his lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, said.

Nawaz Sharif returned home from self-imposed exile last week after being granted permission to travel to London in 2019 to receive medical treatment while serving a 14-year prison sentence for corruption.

He was granted protective bail earlier this week until Oct. 26, preventing his arrest. The court did not give a fresh ruling on the bail decision.

While he cannot run for, or hold public office, until the conviction is overturned, his party says he aims to become prime minister for a fourth time.

It is a step toward ending the injustice, Nawaz Sharif’s party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pakistan’s former PM Nawaz Sharif leaves after appearing in a court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 26, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Three names have haunted Nawaz Sharif in his political career – Abdul Waheed Kakar, Pervez Musharraf and Qamar Javed Bajwa. All three former Army chiefs in Pakistan sent Mr. Sharif packing as Prime Minister on three different occasions, using three differing routes.

And, now, after remaining in “medical exile” since 2019, the former Prime Minister is back again in Pakistan in what will be his fourth attempt to take power. This time he has a new Chief of the Army Staff to tango with – Asim Munir.

Mr. Sharif’s VIP-style arrival and instant bail from the courts in a host of cases goes to show that the Army establishment, after ensuring the ouster of Imran Khan as Prime Minister earlier this year, believes that the PML-N leader is the horse to back in the forthcoming elections.

After landing in Pakistan on October 21, and addressing a well-attended rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan, Mr. Sharif’s political fortunes will be closely watched. For better or for worse, he is the crowd puller for the PML-N – younger brother and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has little of the charisma his older brother possesses.

As a country, Pakistan is ravaged by rampant inflation, an ever-weakening rupee, sky-rocketing fuel and gas prices, commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an absolute inability to expand the tax base in the country.

It’s likely that one of the “conditions” imposed by Mr. Sharif to return to Pakistan is that his political rival Imran Khan be jailed and prosecuted. After all, it was Mr. Khan, who, in cahoots with then Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and a pliant Supreme Court, ensured the conviction and disqualification of Mr. Sharif in 2017.

It was a subdued Nawaz Sharif who addressed his supporters at the Minar-i-Pakistan, stating up front that he would not be seeking revenge against those who plotted his ouster through the courts in 2017. In the past, speaking from London, Mr. Sharif fired a salvo at Gen. Bajwa and then ISI chief Faiz Hamid, seeking action against them for their role in his ouster.

The Dawn newspaper also quoted him as saying: “Pakistan’s constitutional institutions, political parties and all the stakeholders need to work together to deal with the challenges that we are facing today.”

In Pakistan, civilian Prime Ministers have had a long history of being consumed by the Generals they appointed as Army chiefs. Though constitutionally the civilian set-up has been strengthened, the reality is that the permanent establishment of Pakistan can use the courts or even Parliament to send a Prime Minister home.

Perhaps the longest [and publicly happiest marriage] was the recent one between Gen. Bajwa and Imran Khan till it ended in a bitter divorce and loss of office for Mr. Khan. They publicly differed on the choice of an ISI chief, known to be the second most powerful office in Pakistan.

Mr. Khan then went on to launch a most fierce public tirade not just against the Army chief but the Army as an institution – an attack that the khaki-clad could not stomach from the laadla (darling) they had themselves spawned.

In 1998, Gen. Jehangir Karamat chose to resign as Army chief after publicly, but politely, pointing to the many dangers that Pakistan faced. Mr. Nawaz Sharif could not stomach the criticism and Gen. Karamat chose to quit office. His successor Pervez Musharraf would oust Mr. Sharif in a coup the following year.

This context is important as Nawaz Sharif is not known for his restraint when it comes to dealing with other institutions in Pakistan, including the Army. If he is to have a fourth chance at becoming Prime Minister, then Mr. Sharif will have to learn to live within the confines of a rocky marriage with Gen. Asim Munir, the most powerful man in the country.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif releases a dove as he arrives to address a welcoming rally in Lahore, Pakistan, on Oct. 21, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed applications on his return to Pakistan to restore pending appeals against his convictions in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia corruption cases.

Sharif, 73, the three-time Prime Minister and supremo of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), returned to Pakistan on October 21 after spending four years in self-imposed exile in London.

Sharif signed the applications at Islamabad Inter­national Airport on October 21

The applications, prepared by his legal team, will be filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Division Bench and are likely to be heard on October 24, a PML-N lawyer told Dawn newspaper.

Sharif’s legal team will also present a petition seeking protective bail. Besides, Sharif is also supposed to appear before an accountability court on the same day, the report said.

The former Prime Minister was convicted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, which is pending before an Islamabad accountability court.

He was on bail in these cases when he left for the U.K. in 2019 on medical grounds.

On July 6, 2018, a few days before the general elections, accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir convicted Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband, Captain Safdar Awan, in the Avenfield Apartments case that was investigated by a six-member joint investigation team formed to look into the Panama Papers revelations.

While an Islamabad High Court division bench virtually cleared Sharif in the Avenfield apartments case, calling the accountability court’s decision “not correct“, Sharif’s absconder status meant that he was not exonerated despite the court observing a lack of substantial evidence against him, the report said.

The detailed order said the accountability watchdog could not give a satisfactory answer to the question of whether the prosecution had “discharged the onus required on its part”, it said.

The prosecution had to prove that Sharif had purchased Avenfield Apartments in the name of Maryam through corrupt and illegal practices and that she, being his dependent, had aided and abetted him by concealing the true ownership.

It also had to prove that when the properties were acquired, Sharif was a public office-holder.

“There does not exist on record any evidence to the effect,” the court order said.

Islamabad:

Three-time Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned home today after four years of self-imposed exile, and is primed to make a political comeback ahead of elections. The 73-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo flew in from Dubai to Islamabad on the chartered flight “Umeed-e-Pakistan” along with some family members, senior party leaders and friends.

Pakistan is facing overlapping security, economic and political crises ahead of polls already pushed back to January 2024, with Sharif’s primary opponent, the fiercely popular Imran Khan, languishing in jail.

“This is a time for hope and celebration. His return bodes well for Pakistan’s economy and its people,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a senior leader of PML-N.

More than 7,000 police have been enlisted to control crowds expected at the Greater Iqbal Park where his homecoming rally is due later.

The return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope Sharif’s political clout and “man of the soil” swagger will revive its flagging popularity.

The last term of Sharif — who came to power riding on a triumphant victory in 2013 — was scarred by upheavals. It started with the then-opposition-led months-long blockade of Islamabad and ended with his disqualification by the Supreme Court in 2017. The court ruling followed months of hearings in a case instigated by the “Panama Papers” leaks, related to alleged corruption during his previous two terms in office.

Earlier this week, the Islamabad High Court granted protective bail to Sharif until Tuesday, removing the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country.

Nawaz Sharif. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ahead of his return to Pakistan after four years, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 21 deplored the “very chaotic” situation back home and expressed confidence that his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was “competent” to take the cash-strapped country out of the present crisis.

Pakistan court acquits former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 37-year-old ‘bribe’ case

“The 73-year-old PML-N supremo will fly in from Dubai to Islamabad on a chartered plane,” former Finance Minister and PML-N stalwart Ishaq Dar said.

“After staying an hour or so in Islamabad, he will leave for Lahore to address a rally at Minar-i-Pakistan,” Mr. Dar told journalists on October 20.

Talking to reporters at the Dubai airport, he deplored the existing situation of the country which in his words was far worse than in 2017 when he was disqualified by the Supreme Court and later convicted by an accountability court in two cases of corruption.

“The situation is not better than 2017…and it pains me to see all this that our country has gone back instead of going forward,” he said, adding that it was time to think about why the country came to the situation.

“The situation in Pakistan is very chaotic and that is very worrying,” Nawaz was quoted as saying by Geo News. “We are competent enough to solve the problems of the country,” he said before his departure from Dubai airport.

“People are suffering in Pakistan and it is painful but there is hope that we can improve the situation. We created the mess and only we can fix the situation.” When asked about the elections, he said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was empowered to decide the date of the elections.

Talking about his fate after his conviction in 2017, he said that he left everything to God and that he was successfully returning to Pakistan.

According to the party, Nawaz will likely land in Islamabad at 12.30 p.m. and leave for Lahore after a couple of hours. He may first go to his Jati Umra residence before leaving for Minari-Pakistan later in the day.

The reason Nawaz is arriving in Islamabad instead of Lahore is that his touchdown in the capital was necessary to make bail, earlier granted by the Islamabad High Court on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported.

“Putting up an emphatic show for the homecoming of Nawaz Sharif is very important to tell everyone around that the PML-N still is a popular party in Lahore, which was once its citadel,” a PML-N leader from Punjab said.

“And the party leadership here will succeed in it, as a lot more is at stake in this regard.” He said Nawaz’s arrival would give a much-needed impetus to the party at a time when the country was heading for general elections in January. “He will lead the party polls campaign and become the premier for the fourth time,” he said.

In Lahore, the PML-N leadership, including Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz, spent a busy day on Friday to ensure that caravans of the party workers from Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan left for Lahore and those who have to come from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab will leave on Satur­day morning.

Even though the party has an ambitious target of assembling one million people, the organisers on Friday placed only 10,000 chairs. Thousands of Punjab police officials, both in uniform and plain clothes, will perform security duties in and outside the venue.

The PML-N has also categorically told ticket aspirants that their candidature may not be considered if they fail to meet the required target of bringing people to the venue on Saturday, the Dawn report said. According to the party, only Nawaz will speak at the public meeting. The PML-N has also hired two small aircraft to shower rose petals in Lahore on Saturday.

Nawaz left for London in Nove­m­ber 2019 on medical grounds after a higher court granted him bail for four weeks. By that time, he had served half of his seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia corruption case.

During the four years since then, Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender in Al-Azizia and Avenfield corruption cases for his continuous absence from the proceedings on appeals against the sentences.

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday granted him protective bail until October 24 in both cases after NAB did not oppose the petitions filed by him.

He stepped down as Pakistan’s Prime Minister in 2017 after he was disqualified for life from holding public office by the Supreme Court after a probe into his family’s wealth following the 2016 Panama Papers leak. Nawaz Sharif has consistently denied any wrongdoing and termed it as a politically motivated case.

Islamabad:

Three-time Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif will return home on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, primed to make a political comeback ahead of elections. The South Asian nation is facing overlapping security, economic and political crises ahead of polls already pushed back to January 2024, with Sharif’s primary opponent, the fiercely popular Imran Khan, languishing in jail.

“This is a time for hope and celebration. His return bodes well for Pakistan’s economy and its people,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a senior leader of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

Sharif has spent the past several days in Dubai, and will fly from there to the capital Islamabad, then on to Lahore, where his supporters will gather for a welcome home rally, his party has said.

His return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope Sharif’s political clout and “man of the soil” swagger will revive its flagging popularity. 

However, the former leader has a conviction for graft and an unfinished prison sentence hanging over him.

Earlier this week, the Islamabad High Court granted protective bail to Sharif until Tuesday, removing the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country. 

Sharif has been prime minister three times, but was ousted in 2017 and given a lifetime disqualification from politics after being convicted of corruption.

He served less than a year of a seven-year sentence before getting permission to seek medical care in the United Kingdom, ignoring subsequent court orders to return during former prime minister Imran Khan’s government.

His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes to the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from contesting elections to five years.

Sharif’s return has likely been smoothed by a deal between the military establishment and his party to prevent significant legal hurdles, said analyst Zahid Hussain.

“There was some sort of arrangement with the military establishment; without that he wouldn’t have decided to come back,” he told AFP.

Often draped in a red Gucci scarf, Sharif has seen his political fortunes rise and fall on his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment — the country’s true kingmakers.

Politicians in Pakistan are often tangled in legal proceedings that rights monitors say are orchestrated by the powerful military, which has ruled the country directly for more than half of its history and continues to enjoy immense power.

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.

But he faces the tough task of winning over an electorate weary of dynastic politics and a young population that has been captured by Khan’s social-media-savvy party. 

“Sharif’s key challenge is first to establish himself and his party as viable options to replace Imran Khan, who is already popular, and secondly to turn around the economy,” said political analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)