NAWAZ SHARIF: THE MOST UNWANTED POLITICIAN OF PAKISTAN’S POLITICAL PROFILE
Researched & Written by,
Syed Muhammad Waqas
Syed Muhammad Waqas
Zia Martial Law Regime’s Governor Punjab and ex DG ISI, General Ghulam Jilani, gifted Pakistan with his petty—even obnoxious—trove, the discovery of a Punjabi businessman and politician we know as “Mian Nawaz Sharif”. The Sharifs of Lahore were industrialists before they jumped into the arena of politics. The actual incident that brought them in politics was Mr. Bhutto’s “nationalization policy”, which caused their steel business end up in the government control. In its consequence, the Sharif family’s struggle left them with no choice but to oppose Bhutto and retake their business. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that Nawaz Sharif started off in politics as a “revenger” rather than a “patriot”.
In the meantime, as General Zia-ul-Haq, then Army Chief, had successfully staged the 2nd major military coup of Pakistan’s history in 1977 ousting Mr. Bhutto’s elected government, he desperately wanted a Punjabi political figure who would effectively exploit the “Punjabi ethnicity” slogan to counter Peoples Party’s “Sindh-centrism”. The choice fell upon Mian Nawaz Sharif and he was thus pulled into Governor Jilani’s Punjab Cabinet as “Finance Minister”. The same Nawaz Sharif later on gave a “Wake up Punjabi” call to the Punjab province.
Whilst Soviet Union’s attack in Afghanistan was in progress, General Zia looked for an absolutely submissive as well as loyal political agent to cool down the internal ‘heated’ political atmosphere against his Martial Law regime in addition to propagating his “Jihad” policy with personal conviction and fervor. He looked into all available options and Nawaz Sharif was the one to be chosen. Submissive Nawaz Sharif was, therefore, immediately taken into Zia’s Advisory Board. Beyond a shadow of doubt, Nawaz Sharif proved perfectly obedient to his Master, General Zia, on every critical stage and his loyalty to Zia was, thus, held as “exemplary” and “above all doubts”. Soon he was rewarded with Punjab’s executive seat, making him the Chief Minister of the province in 1985 through an army-backed non-party election. Hence, the “pawn” became the “queen”.
On 17 August 1988, the day when the dark night of Martial Law ended with the most sensitively guarded C-130 of the country crashing in the sands of Bahawalpur, killing all onboard including President Zia, Nawaz Sharif found himself in the middle of nowhere. Peoples Party’s magic with the return of Benazir Bhutto (April 1986), the late Bhutto’s daughter, was already on high and this dwarf politician of Punjab was not in a position to conquer – even counter – that resuscitated magic. Nawaz Sharif geared up to lead Zia loyalist “PML Fida Group” after a rift in Pakistan Muslim League; the other group being the “Junejo Group”. In other words, he contested 1988 elections by professing and projecting his staunch belief in “loyalty” to General Zia and his mission. He ended up being in the Chief Minister office again.
After Zia-ul-Haq’s death, Nawaz Sharif was able to come all-out in the national politics, for his benefactor and master was no more alive, and naturally he was the master of himself by that moment in deciding to move outside Punjab. Within these two years of his political transformation, Zia’s political incarnation (Nawaz Sharif) got a chance with the help of ISI to form a so-called “Islamic” alliance named “Islami Jamhoori Itihaad” (IJI) in order to manipulate the 1990 election-results through rigging and pre-pole horse-trading for the exclusive end of turning the tide in his own favor. Everything went according to the plan and Mian Nawaz Sharif had his dream fulfilled – the dream of becoming the executive head of the state, the Prime Minister.
Since Nawaz Sharif had been given all of a sudden more than what he deserved, he could not digest it all. His story of “tussles” thus began. As the Premier of Pakistan, his chaotic 30-month tenure (1990-1993) ended with his two-pronged tussle, i.e. with the President on one hand and with the Army on the other. He was forced by the Army to resign in July 1993.
His military operation codenamed “Operation Clean-up” against MQM starting in June 1992 is something worth-mentioning in the context of his first term. It was this step of him that changed the good fortune of Karachi from a peaceful “city of lights” into a violent, fateful city of darkness.
Nawaz Sharif’s second term began in 1997 when the nation granted him a historic mandate – never seen before. He was displayed complete trust by the nation after the termination of scandalous corrupt government of Benazir Bhutto. However, his second term was not dissimilar to his first term. He got involved in a serious conflict with judiciary when the case of “Contempt of Court” was filed against him. This crisis consequently engineered an ‘infamous’ attack on the Supreme Court of Pakistan by PML-N activists on November 30th, 1997—only two days after Sharif’s appearance before the Court. Then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, had a hair breadth escape in that onrush. PML-N still apologetically speaks of the event. In fact, the party owned the responsibility of the event and formally apologized the nation and the-then Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah issuing a “White Paper” on 29th of November, 2006.
Mian Nawaz Sharif’s stubbornness and innate dichotomy did not end even after ‘conquering’ the Supreme Court building. His following ‘tussle’ was to develop with Pak Army over the issue of proposed National Security Council. General Jahangir Karamat, the Chief of Army Staff, issued a statement emphasizing the importance of formulating “NSC” for better governance and defense. PM Nawaz Sharif, having seen the danger of rebellion in the statement, immediately sacked him (October 1998). The Army was not pleased with this unexcused sacking of its Chief. Nawaz Sharif’s dictatorial mind made a severe mistake on this point when he, not unlike Z.A. Bhutto, chose his favorite Army Chief, General Pervez Musharraf, over many senior generals. This preemptive measure was going to pay him in a different coin soon.
Roughly a year after his much-reluctant nuclear tests, he was again at loggerheads with the Army. And this time the bone of contention was the Kargil issue. On 12 March 1999, Major General Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani, then DG Military Intelligence, briefed PM Nawaz Sharif on the proposed Kargil Operation, which he later on denied to have known in advance. According to General Jamshed Kiyani, the PM was at least thrice briefed upon the operation during its progression. Lamentably, Nawaz Sharif sacked the whole Pak Army on this eve, dishonoring its pride and prestige to the utmost extent on 4th July. Being unable to stand the Western pressure, especially in the wake of Vajpayee’s visit to Washington, he stabbed Pak Army in the back and unconditionally signed the Washington Accord on American Independence Day, announcing instant withdrawal of the soldiers from Kargil Heights. The decision was viewed as an insult of the country by the people of Pakistan as well as political scientists, and Nawaz Sharif’s popularity went down to its lowest level. Pak Army’s Northern Light Infantry was, therefore, compelled to evacuate its forward positions to return to LoC. While returning to the original positions after the Accord, it was this stage when most of the casualties were borne by the Army at the hand of the Indians firing from higher positions.
Nawaz Sharif’s economic policies in his second term were equally notorious as his other scandals. His “Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanwaro” scheme for the paying back of foreign debts, freezing of the foreign currency accounts on the eve of nuclear blasts, government-control of the stock exchange to artificially maintain its level etc. were viewed skeptically by the people of Pakistan, and, as a result, the PM quickly lost the good will he earned after nuclear tests. The foreign currency accounts were frozen in order to keep the money in local banks, which could be used by the government in case of need. However, it was Pakistani people’s money and their joy of country’s going nuclear immediately ended in a dilemma of having their accounts forfeited. Similarly, Pakistanis enthusiastically contributed in the rebuilding of the nation by donating money for Nawaz Sharif’s scheme to pay off foreign debts and the stockpiled money reached trillion-mark. These foreign debts, however, only increased and the fate of those donations of Pakistani Nation was never made public – before or after Musharraf coup. Nawaz Sharif and his party shamelessly hide the facts about this pseudo-scheme and hardly anyone knows where those trillions of Rupees went.
After having been arrested and imprisoned, Nawaz Sharif secretly reached a deal over the course of following two years with the military dictator Musharraf—whom he apparently condemns incessantly. According to this deal, the Sharif family would stay 10 years in exile. In the effect of the deal, the Sharif family traveled to Saudi Arabia, where they stayed for the coming 5 years as ‘state guests’. PML-N remained orphan in their absence and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi was the only leader of such a high standing that kept some momentum within the party. He sacrificed his freedom for the political status of PML-N by having spoken against the dictator and went to jai in its consequencel. However, after Mian Nawaz Sharif’s return to homeland, though in the violation of the deal with Musharraf, Javed Hashmi was ignored ab initio by the proud family, especially by the two brothers, and this devout worker of PML-N eventually quit the party in the grief of being forsaken by his men whom he sacrificed for. Now Makhdoom Javed Hashmi is politically active from the platform of rapidly emerging anti-status-quo party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and is attempting to bring a lasting change in the national political sphere which would, as he himself believes, put an end to the politics of opportunism.
SYED MUHAMMAD WAQAS
(DG BIRF)
In the meantime, as General Zia-ul-Haq, then Army Chief, had successfully staged the 2nd major military coup of Pakistan’s history in 1977 ousting Mr. Bhutto’s elected government, he desperately wanted a Punjabi political figure who would effectively exploit the “Punjabi ethnicity” slogan to counter Peoples Party’s “Sindh-centrism”. The choice fell upon Mian Nawaz Sharif and he was thus pulled into Governor Jilani’s Punjab Cabinet as “Finance Minister”. The same Nawaz Sharif later on gave a “Wake up Punjabi” call to the Punjab province.
Whilst Soviet Union’s attack in Afghanistan was in progress, General Zia looked for an absolutely submissive as well as loyal political agent to cool down the internal ‘heated’ political atmosphere against his Martial Law regime in addition to propagating his “Jihad” policy with personal conviction and fervor. He looked into all available options and Nawaz Sharif was the one to be chosen. Submissive Nawaz Sharif was, therefore, immediately taken into Zia’s Advisory Board. Beyond a shadow of doubt, Nawaz Sharif proved perfectly obedient to his Master, General Zia, on every critical stage and his loyalty to Zia was, thus, held as “exemplary” and “above all doubts”. Soon he was rewarded with Punjab’s executive seat, making him the Chief Minister of the province in 1985 through an army-backed non-party election. Hence, the “pawn” became the “queen”.
On 17 August 1988, the day when the dark night of Martial Law ended with the most sensitively guarded C-130 of the country crashing in the sands of Bahawalpur, killing all onboard including President Zia, Nawaz Sharif found himself in the middle of nowhere. Peoples Party’s magic with the return of Benazir Bhutto (April 1986), the late Bhutto’s daughter, was already on high and this dwarf politician of Punjab was not in a position to conquer – even counter – that resuscitated magic. Nawaz Sharif geared up to lead Zia loyalist “PML Fida Group” after a rift in Pakistan Muslim League; the other group being the “Junejo Group”. In other words, he contested 1988 elections by professing and projecting his staunch belief in “loyalty” to General Zia and his mission. He ended up being in the Chief Minister office again.
After Zia-ul-Haq’s death, Nawaz Sharif was able to come all-out in the national politics, for his benefactor and master was no more alive, and naturally he was the master of himself by that moment in deciding to move outside Punjab. Within these two years of his political transformation, Zia’s political incarnation (Nawaz Sharif) got a chance with the help of ISI to form a so-called “Islamic” alliance named “Islami Jamhoori Itihaad” (IJI) in order to manipulate the 1990 election-results through rigging and pre-pole horse-trading for the exclusive end of turning the tide in his own favor. Everything went according to the plan and Mian Nawaz Sharif had his dream fulfilled – the dream of becoming the executive head of the state, the Prime Minister.
Since Nawaz Sharif had been given all of a sudden more than what he deserved, he could not digest it all. His story of “tussles” thus began. As the Premier of Pakistan, his chaotic 30-month tenure (1990-1993) ended with his two-pronged tussle, i.e. with the President on one hand and with the Army on the other. He was forced by the Army to resign in July 1993.
His military operation codenamed “Operation Clean-up” against MQM starting in June 1992 is something worth-mentioning in the context of his first term. It was this step of him that changed the good fortune of Karachi from a peaceful “city of lights” into a violent, fateful city of darkness.
Nawaz Sharif’s second term began in 1997 when the nation granted him a historic mandate – never seen before. He was displayed complete trust by the nation after the termination of scandalous corrupt government of Benazir Bhutto. However, his second term was not dissimilar to his first term. He got involved in a serious conflict with judiciary when the case of “Contempt of Court” was filed against him. This crisis consequently engineered an ‘infamous’ attack on the Supreme Court of Pakistan by PML-N activists on November 30th, 1997—only two days after Sharif’s appearance before the Court. Then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, had a hair breadth escape in that onrush. PML-N still apologetically speaks of the event. In fact, the party owned the responsibility of the event and formally apologized the nation and the-then Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah issuing a “White Paper” on 29th of November, 2006.
Mian Nawaz Sharif’s stubbornness and innate dichotomy did not end even after ‘conquering’ the Supreme Court building. His following ‘tussle’ was to develop with Pak Army over the issue of proposed National Security Council. General Jahangir Karamat, the Chief of Army Staff, issued a statement emphasizing the importance of formulating “NSC” for better governance and defense. PM Nawaz Sharif, having seen the danger of rebellion in the statement, immediately sacked him (October 1998). The Army was not pleased with this unexcused sacking of its Chief. Nawaz Sharif’s dictatorial mind made a severe mistake on this point when he, not unlike Z.A. Bhutto, chose his favorite Army Chief, General Pervez Musharraf, over many senior generals. This preemptive measure was going to pay him in a different coin soon.
Roughly a year after his much-reluctant nuclear tests, he was again at loggerheads with the Army. And this time the bone of contention was the Kargil issue. On 12 March 1999, Major General Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani, then DG Military Intelligence, briefed PM Nawaz Sharif on the proposed Kargil Operation, which he later on denied to have known in advance. According to General Jamshed Kiyani, the PM was at least thrice briefed upon the operation during its progression. Lamentably, Nawaz Sharif sacked the whole Pak Army on this eve, dishonoring its pride and prestige to the utmost extent on 4th July. Being unable to stand the Western pressure, especially in the wake of Vajpayee’s visit to Washington, he stabbed Pak Army in the back and unconditionally signed the Washington Accord on American Independence Day, announcing instant withdrawal of the soldiers from Kargil Heights. The decision was viewed as an insult of the country by the people of Pakistan as well as political scientists, and Nawaz Sharif’s popularity went down to its lowest level. Pak Army’s Northern Light Infantry was, therefore, compelled to evacuate its forward positions to return to LoC. While returning to the original positions after the Accord, it was this stage when most of the casualties were borne by the Army at the hand of the Indians firing from higher positions.
Nawaz Sharif’s economic policies in his second term were equally notorious as his other scandals. His “Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanwaro” scheme for the paying back of foreign debts, freezing of the foreign currency accounts on the eve of nuclear blasts, government-control of the stock exchange to artificially maintain its level etc. were viewed skeptically by the people of Pakistan, and, as a result, the PM quickly lost the good will he earned after nuclear tests. The foreign currency accounts were frozen in order to keep the money in local banks, which could be used by the government in case of need. However, it was Pakistani people’s money and their joy of country’s going nuclear immediately ended in a dilemma of having their accounts forfeited. Similarly, Pakistanis enthusiastically contributed in the rebuilding of the nation by donating money for Nawaz Sharif’s scheme to pay off foreign debts and the stockpiled money reached trillion-mark. These foreign debts, however, only increased and the fate of those donations of Pakistani Nation was never made public – before or after Musharraf coup. Nawaz Sharif and his party shamelessly hide the facts about this pseudo-scheme and hardly anyone knows where those trillions of Rupees went.
After having been arrested and imprisoned, Nawaz Sharif secretly reached a deal over the course of following two years with the military dictator Musharraf—whom he apparently condemns incessantly. According to this deal, the Sharif family would stay 10 years in exile. In the effect of the deal, the Sharif family traveled to Saudi Arabia, where they stayed for the coming 5 years as ‘state guests’. PML-N remained orphan in their absence and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi was the only leader of such a high standing that kept some momentum within the party. He sacrificed his freedom for the political status of PML-N by having spoken against the dictator and went to jai in its consequencel. However, after Mian Nawaz Sharif’s return to homeland, though in the violation of the deal with Musharraf, Javed Hashmi was ignored ab initio by the proud family, especially by the two brothers, and this devout worker of PML-N eventually quit the party in the grief of being forsaken by his men whom he sacrificed for. Now Makhdoom Javed Hashmi is politically active from the platform of rapidly emerging anti-status-quo party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and is attempting to bring a lasting change in the national political sphere which would, as he himself believes, put an end to the politics of opportunism.
SYED MUHAMMAD WAQAS
(DG BIRF)