NANO Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu/Punjabi: میاں محمد نواز شریف, born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who served for three non-consecutive terms as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and for two terms as the Chief Minister of Punjab. Born into the upper-middle class Sharif family in Lahore, Sharif is the son of Muhammad Sharif, the founder of Ittefaq and Sharif Group. He is the elder brother of Shahbaz Sharif, who also served as the Chief Minister of Punjab. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Sharif is the one of the wealthiest men in Pakistan, with an estimated net worth of at least 1.6 billion Pakistani rupees. Most of Sharif's wealth originates from his businesses in steel construction. Before entering politics in the 1970s, Sharif studied business at Government College and law at the University of Punjab. In 1981, Sharif was appointed by President Zia as the Minister of Finance for the province of Punjab. Backed by a loose coalition of conservatives, Sharif was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab in 1985 and re-elected after the end of martial law in 1988. In 1990, Sharif led the conservative Islamic Democratic Alliance and became the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan. After being ousted in 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly, Sharif served as the Leader of the Opposition to the government of Benazir Bhutto from 1993 to 1996. He returned to premiership after the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) was elected in 1997, and served until his removal in 1999 by military takeover. After serving in prison and exile for more than a decade, he returned to politics in 2011 and led his party to victory for a third time in 2013. In 2017, Sharif was removed from office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding revelations from the Panama Papers case.In 2018, the Pakistani Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from holding public office, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Sharif was born in Lahore, Punjab, on 25 December 1949.The Sharif family are Punjabis of Kashmiri origin.His father, Muhammad Sharif, was an upper-middle-class businessman and industrialist whose family had emigrated from Anantnag in Kashmir for business. They settled in the village of Jati Umra in Amritsar district, Punjab, at the beginning of the twentieth century. His mother's family came from Pulwama.After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Sharif's parents migrated from Amritsar to Lahore.His father followed the teachings of the Ahl-i Hadith.His family owns Ittefaq Group, a multimillion-dollar steel conglomerate,and Sharif Group, a conglomerate with holdings in agriculture, transport and sugar mills.Sharif married Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, who was also of Kashmiri descent.His brother Shahbaz Sharif is the incumbent Chief Minister of Punjab province, while his nephew Hamza Shahbaz Sharif is a member of the National Assembly.Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz is currently the chairperson for the prime minister's youth initiative.Maryam is married to politician Muhammad Safdar Awan.His other daughter, Asma Nawaz, is married to Ali Dar, son of Ishaq Dar, the current finance minister of Pakistan.The personal residence of the Sharif family, Raiwind Palace, is located in Jati Umra, Raiwind, on the outskirts of Lahore.He also has a residence in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, known as the Sharif Villa, where he lived during his years in exile.His elder son, Hussain Nawaz, is a businessman based in Saudi Arabia and currently resides in the Jeddah house.His younger son, Hassan Nawaz, is also a businessman and lives in London.Sharif 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.Sharif underwent heart surgery in May 2016 in London. It was his second open-heart operation.His deteriorating health forced him to undergo an open heart surgery only three days before the presentation of the country's annual budget. Many opposition leaders and the legal fraternity, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, raised questions about a possible constitutional crisis in Pakistan. Chaudhry called for electing a new interim prime minister to avoid the crisis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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