Nawaz Shareef Corrpation History

 

Nawaz Sharif is a prominent Pakistani politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. Despite his long career in politics, Sharif has faced numerous allegations of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. This article will provide a detailed history of Nawaz Sharif's corruption scandals, including the infamous Panama Papers scandal that ultimately led to his disqualification as Prime Minister in 2017.

Nawaz Sharif's political career began in the early 1980s when he was appointed Chief Minister of Punjab, one of Pakistan's largest provinces. In 1990, he became the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the first time, serving until 1993. During his first term in office, Sharif was accused of corruption and nepotism. His government was also criticized for failing to improve the country's economic conditions.

In 1997, Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister, with his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), winning a significant majority in the National Assembly. However, his second term in office was also plagued by corruption allegations. In 1998, he was accused of money laundering and tax evasion by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a government agency tasked with investigating corruption cases.

The corruption allegations against Sharif escalated in 1999 when he was accused of ordering a military coup against his own government. This led to his removal from office and his subsequent exile to Saudi Arabia. However, Sharif returned to Pakistan in 2007 and participated in the country's general elections in 2008, which were won by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

In 2013, Sharif was once again elected as Prime Minister, with his party winning a significant majority in the National Assembly. However, his third term in office was once again marred by corruption allegations. The most significant of these allegations emerged in 2016 when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the Panama Papers, a leak of more than 11 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The Panama Papers revealed that Sharif's family owned several offshore companies that were used to buy luxury properties in London. The papers also showed that Sharif's daughter, Maryam Nawaz, was the owner of several of these companies. The Panama Papers scandal led to widespread protests in Pakistan, with opposition parties calling for Sharif's resignation.

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the case and ordered an investigation into the allegations of corruption against Sharif and his family. In July of that year, the court disqualified Sharif from holding public office, stating that he had failed to disclose his income from a Dubai-based company in his nomination papers for the 2013 election.

Following his disqualification, Sharif was indicted on corruption charges related to the ownership of luxury apartments in London. In 2018, he and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were convicted and sentenced to prison for owning assets beyond their known sources of income. Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Maryam Nawaz was sentenced to 7 years. Both were later released on bail.

In 2019, Sharif was again convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of corruption related to a steel mill in Saudi Arabia. However, he was once again released on bail.

Throughout his political career, Nawaz Sharif has faced numerous allegations of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. His family's ownership of offshore companies and luxury properties has been the most high-profile of these scandals, leading to his disqualification as Prime Minister and his subsequent legal battles. Despite his legal challenges, Sharif and his party remain popular among a significant segment of the Pakistani