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                  Ex-Premier Sharif Mounts Political Comeback

   Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was posed Sunday to return
   to power for a third term, a remarkable political comeback after being
   deposed in a 1999 military coup, jailed and exiled to Saudi Arabia.
   The 63-year-old conservative and steel magnate held off a challenge
   from his main rivals, former cricketer Imran Khan and the Pakistan
   People`s Party, led by the Bhutto family.
   Mr. Sharif served as prime minister twice during the nineties and
   oversaw Pakistan`s first nuclear weapons test, but was ousted by former
   army chief, General Pervez Musharraf.
   While he has said the military - which has ruled Pakistan for more than
   half of its turbulent history - should stay out of politics, Mr. Sharif
   will have to work with the country`s generals, who set foreign and
   security policy.
   In 2007, Mr. Sharif returned to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia but was
   barred from contesting elections due to a prior criminal conviction for
   terrorism and hijacking stemming from the Musharraf coup.
   The Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2009.
   Mr. Sharif`s main tasks will be to tackle Pakistan`s stalled economy,
   serious infrastructure failures and grave threats from an emboldened
   Taliban insurgency.
   The nationalist leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has hinted
   he is open to negotiating with Taliban militants who are active in wide
   areas of the country`s volatile northwest. His stance could see
   resistance from Pakistan`s military, which has lost thousands of
   soldiers fighting the Islamist insurgency.
   In relations with the United States, Mr Sharif is expected to assert
   Pakistani sovereignty more vigorously than the outgoing government. He
   has criticized the Afghan conflict as "America`s war."
   Analysts also say Mr. Sharif will likely continue his past efforts to
   improve ties with Pakistan`s arch rival, neighboring India.
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   eback/1659538.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/expremier-sharif-mounts-political-comeback/1659538.html