Navaz Sharif was the Pakistan prime minister for four years and looked to be the first premier after Bhutto to complete a full term ( five years). Unfortunately for him, Nawaz was not liked by the army, and it is on record that the last time he was the prime minister, a coup was engineered by General Musharraf, who had been appointed as the Chief of Staff by him.. Sharif was arrested, and some trumped-up charges were framed.

A compliant Supreme Court concurred, and Nawaz who may have been imprisoned for life or even hanged like Bhutto had a reprieve when Saudi Arabia intervened on his behalf.

The Saudi's are the biggest benefactors of the debt-ridden Pakistani state, and General Musharraf had no choice but to agree for a 10-year exile for Shariff. The ten years passed and Nawaz came roaring back and won a landslide victory.

Under normal circumstances, he should have been allowed to complete his term with the massive majority he had in parliament.

Again the army was uneasy especially after the ousted president Musharraf with the blessings of Nawaz was arrested on a number of charges including the murder of Benazir Bhutto. The New York Times has reported that Nawaz Sharif was a towering personality in Pak politics and now he has been sidelined.


Army pressure saw to it that Musharraf could escape to Dubai where he is presently ensconced and goes on giving interviews and making comments to embarrass the Pak government. With Nawaz completing four years and general elections due, the army was worried. It could not countenance the second term of 5 years for Nawaz and was looking for ways to oust him. Some politicians like Imran Khan who in almost two decades had not made any mark in politics joined up with the army, and an agitation was started against Sharif on corruption.

The trial

The opponents of Sharif and the army had a windfall when Nawaz's name appeared in the Panama papers, and it came to light that he and his children had purchased four high-end properties in London.

The case was put on the fast track, and with the SC playing ball, the investigation, trial, and connected work were completed within a year.

Considering that after ten years the trial of the mastermind Hafiz Sayeed of the Mumbai carnage hasn't even taken off, this haste in getting a verdict was primarily to ban Sharif from contesting the elections due on 25 July this year. The Hindu Newspaper has reported this

Nawaz is jailed for ten years and his daughter for seven years.

In addition, a fine of 8million pounds is imposed on him. Nawaz is also banned for life for contesting any election in Pak. The army has thus effectively sidelined Nawaz and his daughter who is also in the same boat. The party of Nawaz the PML is left rudderless, and the army is hoping it will lose the election.


Nawaz is now on the brink of being rendered redundant in Pak politics, and one wonders how he will escape the jail term.

His only option is to stay put in London. The army would not mind it as its main agenda of ousting Nawaz from the Pakistan political scenario is a success.

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