Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
was sentenced to life in prison. Today he is confident of winning a historic third term at Pakistain's general election and fixing the country's most intractable problems.
Calm and collected at the end of a quick visit to Islamabad, where he addressed a hot and sweaty hotel meeting room packed with businessmen, the 63-year-old former prime minister presents himself as a statesman-in-waiting.
"Our people are very excited. They are waiting for a response from the field and things look good. They, in fact, look better than what they were in 1997," he told AFP, referring to the landslide that last swept him into power.
Businessmen and industrialists traditionally regard Sharif's Pakistain Mohammedan League-N party as better on the economy than the outgoing Pakistain People's Party (PPP) and he comes back, time and again, to stressing his economic credentials for the May 11 election.
He won admiration for turning Pakistain into a nuclear power in 1998 and for building a high-speed motorway from the northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
to Lahore, his home town and Pakistain's cultural capital on the Indian border.
He was first elected in 1990 but sacked three years later on corruption charges. His second term from 1997 to 1999 ended in a military coup by General
Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
, which the public widely welcomed at the time.
Sharif has been criticised for being soft on Islamist Death Eater groups. Bombers yesterday blew up two schools designated as polling stations for Pakistain's general election next week, police said
Asked about Taliban attacks targeting parties in the outgoing government, he stopped short of condemning the bully boyz by name.
Like cricket legend Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
, the only other party leader to address major rallies on a daily basis, Sharif has refused to shield himself behind bullet-proof glass when addressing the crowds.
Analysts consider the only bar to a Sharif premiership to be Khan, whose call for change and reform has resonated with the urban middle class despite the fact that he has previously only won one seat in parliament.