Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan’s Three-Time Ex-Prime Minister
The complete story — from Lahore industrialist to three-time prime minister, the 2017 disqualification, four years of London exile, the dramatic 21 October 2023 return, and where he stands in Pakistan’s politics today.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
The Essentials
Nawaz Sharif at a Glance
The numbers behind Pakistan’s most electorally successful politician.
The Man
Who Is Nawaz Sharif?
From a Lahore steel business to the most powerful office in Pakistan — three times.
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born on 25 December 1949 in Lahore into the Sharif family, owners of the Ittefaq Group steel business. He entered politics in the early 1980s under General Zia-ul-Haq’s military government, becoming Punjab’s finance minister and then chief minister of Punjab (1985–1990) — the launchpad for everything that followed.
After Zia’s death, Nawaz built the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad alliance and then his own party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) — PML-N, around a centre-right, business-friendly platform: privatisation, motorways, infrastructure and close ties with the trader class of Punjab. That formula made him Pakistan’s most electorally successful politician — no one else has been elected prime minister three times.
His family is Pakistan’s pre-eminent political dynasty: younger brother Shehbaz Sharif is the current prime minister, and daughter Maryam Nawaz is the chief minister of Punjab — the first woman to hold the post.
The Record
Three Terms as Prime Minister
No Pakistani has won the premiership more often — and no term ended on schedule.
The Debut
Took office on 6 November 1990 at 40, one of the world’s youngest leaders. Pushed privatisation and economic liberalisation. Dismissed in 1993 after a power struggle with President Ghulam Ishaq Khan; briefly restored by the Supreme Court, then both resigned under army pressure.
The Heavy Mandate
Won a two-thirds majority in February 1997. Ordered Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests in response to India’s, built the Lahore–Islamabad Motorway (M-2), then clashed with the army over Kargil. Deposed in General Pervez Musharraf’s 12 October 1999 coup and exiled to Saudi Arabia.
The Comeback
Returned from exile in 2007 and won the 2013 election — Pakistan’s first democratic transfer of power. Launched CPEC, ended crippling load-shedding, built motorways. Removed not by the army but by the Supreme Court on 28 July 2017 in the Panama Papers case.
For the full term-by-term breakdown — policies, controversies and legacy — read our deep dive: Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan’s Prime Minister: All Three Terms Explained.
The Exile
The Fall: Disqualification, Jail and London Exile
How a sitting prime minister ended up in a London flat.
The 2016 Panama Papers leak named Nawaz Sharif’s children as owners of offshore companies linked to London’s Avenfield flats. The opposition — led by Imran Khan’s PTI — took the case to the Supreme Court, which on 28 July 2017 disqualified Nawaz from holding office over undeclared income, ending his third term.
Accountability courts then convicted him twice: 10 years in the Avenfield reference (July 2018) and 7 years in the Al-Azizia reference (December 2018). He was in Kot Lakhpat Jail when, in November 2019, the courts granted him medical bail and the government briefly removed his name from the Exit Control List for treatment in London. He never came back.
For four years Nawaz lived in London’s Avenfield apartments while Pakistani courts declared him a proclaimed offender for absconding. From London he directed the PML-N’s politics — including the opposition alliance that ousted Imran Khan in April 2022 and installed his brother Shehbaz as prime minister. By 2023, with general elections approaching, the stage was set for a return.
The Comeback
21 October 2023: The Return
Four years in London ended with a chartered jet, a helicopter and a sea of green flags.
On Saturday, 21 October 2023, Nawaz Sharif boarded a chartered plane in London with more than 150 party leaders, workers and journalists and flew home after four years of self-imposed exile. Stopping in Dubai en route, he told reporters he was “returning to Pakistan after being vindicated” and that his party was competent enough to steer the country out of crisis.
He landed at Islamabad airport in the afternoon, completed legal and biometric formalities in the VIP lounge under protective bail, then flew on to Lahore, where his brother Shehbaz Sharif received him. From there a helicopter — with Shehbaz and Ishaq Dar aboard — carried him to a special helipad near the Lahore Fort, and a caravan of vehicles escorted him to Minar-e-Pakistan, where tens of thousands of PML-N supporters waving the party’s green tiger flags waited for the homecoming rally.
The PML-N had booked special trains to bring workers from across Punjab for what it billed as a historic power show — a deliberate echo of the party’s 1980s and 1990s Lahore rallies. For the minute-by-minute story of the day, see: When Nawaz Sharif Came to Pakistan: The Full Story of His 2023 Return.
| Time (21 Oct 2023) | What happened |
|---|---|
| Morning | Chartered flight departs London with 150+ PML-N leaders, workers and media |
| Afternoon | Lands in Islamabad; legal and biometric formalities completed at the airport |
| After 5 pm | Arrives Lahore; received by Shehbaz Sharif and party leaders |
| Evening | Helicopter to Lahore Fort helipad, caravan to Minar-e-Pakistan |
| Night | Addresses the homecoming rally; heads to Jati Umra residence |
Today
After the Return: Acquittals and the 2024 Question
Cleared by the courts within months — but the fourth term never came.
The legal cloud lifted fast. On 29 November 2023 the Islamabad High Court acquitted Nawaz in the Avenfield reference; on 12 December 2023 it acquitted him in Al-Azizia too. Within two months of landing, the convictions that had forced him into exile were gone.
He then led the PML-N’s campaign for the 8 February 2024 general elections as the party’s prime-ministerial face — until the results forced a rethink. The PML-N emerged as the largest party but well short of a majority, and the decision was made for Shehbaz Sharif to take the premiership at the head of a coalition, with Nawaz stepping back into the role of party supremo.
On 28 May 2024 Nawaz was re-elected president of the PML-N unopposed, and since 29 February 2024 he has sat in the National Assembly as the MNA from NA-130 Lahore-XIV. The man who once insisted on leading from the front now leads from behind the throne.
2026
Where Is Nawaz Sharif Now?
The patriarch of Pakistan’s ruling family.
As of October 2026, Nawaz Sharif remains president of the PML-N and the most influential unelected figure in Pakistani politics. He meets Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regularly at his Jati Umra residence in Raiwind — most recently on 4 October 2026, when the brothers discussed the political situation with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also present — and his word still settles party tickets, from general elections to the Azad Kashmir presidency.
His staying power is itself a political phenomenon. Disqualified for life in 2017, convicted and jailed in 2018, exiled in 2019 — and yet by 2024 he was acquitted, back in parliament and running the ruling party. Few comebacks in Pakistan’s history match it, and it explains why the “Nawaz question” — will he ever seek the office again, or has he permanently handed the baton to Shehbaz and Maryam? — still animates every PML-N strategy session.
At 76, he has settled into the role Pakistan’s dynastic politics wrote for him: the elder statesman who no longer contests the premiership but decides who does. Whether that arrangement survives the next election cycle is the question his party strategists debate in private — and the reason his name still moves markets, headlines and search trends.
Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
What Pakistanis ask most about Nawaz Sharif — answered.
When did Nawaz Sharif return to Pakistan?
21 October 2023, after four years of self-imposed exile in London. He landed in Islamabad in the afternoon, completed legal formalities, flew to Lahore and addressed a massive PML-N rally at Minar-e-Pakistan the same evening. Full timeline: When Nawaz Sharif Came to Pakistan.
How many times has Nawaz Sharif been prime minister?
Three times: 6 November 1990 – 18 July 1993; 17 February 1997 – 12 October 1999 (ended by Musharraf’s coup); and 5 June 2013 – 28 July 2017 (ended by Supreme Court disqualification). No other Pakistani has held the office three times. Details: All Three Terms Explained.
Why did Nawaz Sharif leave Pakistan?
In November 2019, while serving a 7-year jail term in the Al-Azizia case, courts granted him medical bail and his name was briefly removed from the Exit Control List for treatment in London. He stayed for four years and was declared a proclaimed offender for not returning.
Is Nawaz Sharif prime minister now?
No. Despite returning as the PML-N’s prime-ministerial face for the 2024 elections, the results led the party to install his brother Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister instead. Nawaz is the PML-N’s president and an MNA from NA-130 Lahore.
What cases were against Nawaz Sharif?
The Panama Papers cases: Avenfield (10-year sentence, July 2018) and Al-Azizia (7-year sentence, December 2018). He was acquitted in both by the Islamabad High Court in November and December 2023, weeks after his return.
Where does Nawaz Sharif live now?
At his family’s Jati Umra residence in Raiwind, near Lahore — the Sharif estate where he hosts the party meetings that still shape PML-N decisions.
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