Perhaps no other statesman in world politics today would be more worthy of the name "comeback kid" should the political frontrunner for the Pakistani premiership triumph in tomorrow's fiercely contested general election.
Nawaz Sharif, who is looking to become Pakistan's prime minister for a third time after two stints in the role during the 1990s, has had a decades-long career that has seen him in government, opposition and exile. Indeed, on the cusp of power once again, Sharif's road to election favourite has been fraught. Should he re-take the crown he lost in a bloodless coup to former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf in 1999, he will make history as the only figure in Pakistani politics to be a three-time premier, and all in an election that is notable for being the first ever in Pakistan to determine a transition between civilian governments.
A victory for Sharif, 63, and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party would surely be a sweet moment for this business magnate and religious conservative, who served as prime minister from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 until he was sensationally toppled from power some 14 years ago by Musharraf. (Musharraf is now under house arrest in what has proved a remarkable reversal in the fortunes of the two political foes.) It was a bruising experience for a man who, prior to his downfall, appeared to tower over Pakistan's topsy-turvy political scene with secure majorities in both houses of parliament.
But while retaining a tight grip over the country's power structures, it was his lack of control over the military - and subsequent confrontation with this most formidable of national institutions - that soon did the political veteran in. Along with dozens of family members, he was exiled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until his brio-filled return to Pakistan in 2007.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by the president, Asif Ali Zardari, has not had its troubles to seek over the past five years. While it has achieved a first in Pakistani politics as the only government in the country's history to fulfil a full term, the PPP has mainly delivered a track record that has, in essence, done little to earn the renewed trust of Pakistan's 86 million-plus registered voters. Accused of blatant corruption, gross government inefficiency, an inability to deliver real economic growth and sundry other misdemeanours, the PPP has provided fertile ground for Sharif's political campaign, which has been riding high during an election that has witnessed sporadic bouts of violence - there is an excess of 73,000 polling stations across Pakistan, 20,000 of which have been deemed a security risk. But, for Sharif, who has been traversing the country by helicopter, it is his promises on the economy that he hopes will hand him the mandate he so craves. "Our political philosophy revolves around economic progress," said the man who has pledged to turn Pakistan into an "Asian tiger". "If a country is economically strong, it is able to solve all the problems, whether law and order or political extremism."
He was born Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in December 1949, in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. His family were Kashmiri immigrants who had settled in Punjab, the country's most populous province, in the late 19th century, and his father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, was the proprietor of a cast-iron parts venture, who later rose to become a prominent industrialist. Sharif's road to political stardom began as a constituency representative and soon moved to national prominence as a protégé of military dictator, Gen Zia Al Haq, in his time as Pakistan's ruler from 1977 to 1988. During that period, Sharif cut his teeth as Punjab province's finance and then chief minister. By all accounts, he never really showed a particular flair for politics, but as an able political administrator during these ministerial briefs, Sharif assumed the premiership of this restive Islamic republic for the first time in 1990.
Sharif, one of the few major politicians in Pakistan not on a hit list of Taliban insurgents who have pledged to cause upheaval during the elections, showed his more conservative streak in 1991 when he attempted to make Sharia the nation's supreme law. But, just two years later, his first stint as prime minister came to an end, paving the way for the then-opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, wife of Asif Ali Zardari, to form a new administration.
Like the proverbial rubber ball, however, Sharif bounced back after a comfortable majority saw him return to the top job for a second time in 1997. But, this tenure was not without its controversies, either. In 1998, he gave the go-ahead for Pakistan's first nuclear tests, and a series of constitutional changes did little to endear him to the judiciary and the army, which would, under the authority of Musharraf, bring about his dramatic downfall in 1999.
If Sharif's fall from grace demonstrated one thing, it was the pure folly of crossing swords with the country's military. Convicted of hijacking and terrorism after he refused to permit Musharraf's airliner to land in Pakistan, Sharif was given life imprisonment; and after being found guilty of that age-old political crime of corruption, he was also given a life ban from any political activities. But for an apparent Saudi-brokered deal, Sharif and a number of his family members would have found themselves locked up in a Pakistani prison cell at Musharraf's pleasure. Instead, he was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for what was supposed to be a decade.
But, ever the calculating politician, the two-time premier cut short his time in the political wilderness by three years. In November 2007, Sharif, almost certainly taking advantage of the political uncertainty that had arisen during Musharraf's negotiations with Bhutto - who was assassinated just days before elections in December that year - headed back to his homeland to challenge the man who had publicly humiliated him
Sharif's political counter-attack, so long in the making, paid off - and handsomely. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, his PML-N party made spectacular gains at the expense of Musharraf's allies, which included some one-time Sharif supporters who had thrown in their lot with Musharraf after the wealthy industrialist's exile. Sharif then made an alliance with the PPP, which had emerged with the largest number of seats, and Musharraf's forced resignation followed. Sharif's re-emergence onto Pakistan's political scene was now complete.
Yet, just one year later, Sharif, who couldn't have possibly reckoned his return to the cut and thrust of Pakistani politics would be a serene affair, found himself up against the very man, who had helped him put away Musharraf - President Zardari. Sharif, together with his Punjab chief minister brother, Shahbaz, was prevented from standing for public office by the country's Supreme Court, and Sharif put the finger of blame on Zardari for ordering the decree. With a handy penchant for getting his own way, Sharif not only succeeded in getting the ruling quashed, but also in getting Zardari to return PML-N-sympathetic judges removed by Musharraf.
According to many commentators, Sharif has developed into a more nuanced politician since the 1990s. His 39-year-old daughter, Maryam, speaking to The Telegraph this month, agrees. "I think those years of struggle, those years of hardship, those years of adversity, they have made a better, stronger and more mature Nawaz Sharif," said the woman who has been out campaigning for her father in his Lahore constituency. "He's a thinker now. I think there's no hunger or greed for power. This is the time he wants to do something for the country."
The country may not be in love with the ruling party and actively looking for a changing of the guard, but many are watching the fortunes of the former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party with a keen eye. A strong challenge to Sharif from this charismatic sporting hero, who was badly injured after falling from a makeshift hoist during a political rally on Tuesday, would not be out of the question come polling day.
But, should Sharif prevail - and a period of grace will likely be in short supply - then his in-tray will make for a terrifying spectacle. Economic reforms are seen as imperative to mitigate against a balance of payments crisis in Pakistan - and Sharif has pledged to slash government expenditure by a third in order to win global support for the economy. But, in a country that has also suffered greatly from terrorism in recent years, and which has been buffeted by war in neighbouring Afghanistan, many analysts fear that a Sharif-led government will lurch to the politico-religious right, thus causing much more in the way of confusion in the fight against militant Islam.
Such concerns are, however, for another time. But, in the event of an electoral triumph, Sharif's passage to power may be as gentle as it gets.
The Biog
December 25, 1949 Born in Lahore
November 1990 to July 1993 Enjoys first stint as prime minister but is eventually dismissed
February 1997 to October 1999 Enjoys second stint as prime minister, but is ousted in coup by army general Pervez Musharraf
2000 Exiled to Saudi Arabia for 10 years
November 2007 Flies back to Pakistan three years early to challenge the rule of president Musharraf
2008 Helps to secure Musharraf's resignation
May 11, 2013 Attempts to become Pakistan's prime minister for a record third time
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
More on Quran memorisation:
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Victims%20of%20the%202018%20Parkland%20school%20shooting
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
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'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
More from Aya Iskandarani
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Match info
Bournemouth 0
Liverpool 4 (Salah 25', 48', 76', Cook 68' OG)
Man of the match: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Read more about the coronavirus
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
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