Nawaz Sharif And His Baggage

If Sharif has learned any lesson from his previous two stints as prime minister, it should be that his chances for serving a full five-year term in office will depend on his establishing a modus vivendi with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. His prospects for establishing civilian control over the military and intelligence agencies, however desirable […]

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Nawaz Sharif 3.0

On June 5, Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Nawaz Sharif as the country’s prime minister. Though it’s his third time in office, almost fourteen years have passed since Sharif last led Pakistan. There is a legitimate question, then, as to how exactly he will govern. Pakistan has changed in many ways since 1999, when Sharif was overthrown by General […]

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Can Pakistan Make Peace Next Door?

Pakistan’s Army has managed the country’s policy on Afghanistan since 1978. It must now start sharing the burden with civilian leaders. The army should enlist Mr. Sharif to talk to the Afghan Taliban, whose leaders are mostly living in Pakistan. Read Here – The New York Times The Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid has become the […]

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In Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif 3.0

The high turnout for the recent general election indicates that the Pakistani public is warming up to democracy. But participation is a double-edged sword: by virtue of having had its voice heard, the public now has heightened expectations of government performance. If Sharif fails to deliver, public disaffection could set in rather quickly and powerfully. […]

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The Road Ahead For Pakistan

The rise of Sharif’s Muslim League is a golden opportunity for a civilian government to build consensus with other political parties and wrest control of domestic, foreign and security policy from the military. Read Here – Gulf News

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The Return Of The Lion?

If Pakistan‘s May 11 parliamentary elections unfold according to recent national opinion surveys, two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif will once again take power in Islamabad. Deposed in a 1999 coup led by General Pervez Musharraf, Sharif fled for nearly a decade of Saudi-sponsored exile. Today, however, it is Musharraf who lives under house arrest just outside Islamabad […]

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Who Really Holds the Reins in Egypt?

He calls himself Sharif. He is a young man without a beard who wears a hoodie and athletic shoes. He doesn’t look anything like a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but rather like one of those young revolutionaries his men are assaulting with stones, sticks and steel rods. Sharif says that he hates these liberals […]

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