Due to the West Indies match he'd surprise Imran Khan, then the regular captain, because Nawaz opened the innings with minimal protection against one of the most feared fast bowling attack.

[2] In May 1980, Ghulam Jilani Khan, the recently appointed military governor of Punjab and a former Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was seeking new urban leaders; he quickly promoted Nawaz, making him finance minister.

[27] This resulted in a nuclear crisis with the United States which tightened its embargo on Pakistan in December 1990 and reportedly offered substantial economic aid to halt the country's uranium enrichment programme.

[28] On 18 April, ahead of the 1993 Parliamentary election, Khan used his reserve powers (58-2b) to dissolve the National Assembly, and with the support of the army appointed Mir Balakh Sher as interim prime minister.

[34] Despite the intense international criticism and decline in foreign investment and trade, Nawaz's domestic popularity increased, as the tests made Pakistan the first Muslim country and seventh nation to become a nuclear power.

[34] Leader of the Opposition Benazir Bhutto congratulated Nawaz for his "bold decision" in spite of the economic outcomes,[44] and felt that the tests erased doubts and fears which troubled the nation since the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.

[76][77] On 8 September, Lebanese politician Saad Hariri and Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz held an unprecedented joint press conference at Army Combatant Generals Headquarters (GHQ) to discuss how Nawaz's return would affect relations.

[15] In a televised speech on 16 March, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani promised to reinstate Chaudhry after receiving pressure from Pakistan's army, American and British envoys, and internal protests.

[123] In January 2016 he backed the Punjab government policy of banning Tablighi Jamaat from preaching in educational institutions and in February he enacted a law to provide a helpline for women to report domestic abuse, despite the criticism of conservative religious parties.

[127] In March 2016, The Washington Post reported that Nawaz was defying Pakistan's powerful clergy by unblocking access to YouTube, pushing to end child marriage, enacting a landmark domestic violence bill, and overseeing the execution of Qadri.

[128][129] Sunni Tehreek led protests of nearly 2,000 Islamic fundamentist on 28 March 2016, staging a three-day sit-in at the D-Chowk in Islamabad, demanding that Nawaz implement Shariah and declare Qadri a martyr.

[157][158][159] The World Bank stated on 9 April 2014 that Pakistan's economy was at a turning point, with projected GDP growth approaching 4%, driven by manufacturing and service sectors, better energy availability, and early revival of investor confidence.

Regarding the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, the magazine wrote that "critics fear the country will struggle to pay back the debt, especially if foreign-exchange earnings from exports continue to dwindle" further adding that "It may not concern Mr. Sharif unduly if the next generation of roads is as deserted as the last.

On 1 November, Khan ceased protests after the Supreme Court said it would form a judicial commission to probe allegations stemming from the "Panama Papers" leaks about the Sharif family's offshore wealth.

[205] On 15 September, just six days after Nawaz's proposal for talks with the Taliban, a roadside bomb killed Major-General Sanaullah Khan, a lieutenant colonel and another soldier in the Upper Dir district near the Afghanistan border.

In response to the attack, Nawaz – with consultation from all political parties – devised a 20-point National Action Plan which included continued execution of convicted terrorists, establishment of special military courts for two years and regulation of madrasas.

[219] Operation Zarb-e-Azb was formally launched on 15 June 2014 after the Sharif administration prepared for a three-front offensive:[220] isolating targeted militant groups, obtaining support from the political parties, and protecting civilians from reprisals.

SAARC must capture the imagination of our peoples and contribute to creating strong and mutually beneficial bonds.On 27 October 2016, Nawaz hosted the 15th ministerial meeting of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC), and proposed an Open Skies Agreement between the countries.

According to The Express Tribune, Sharif's government had charged the army with providing fool-proof security to Chinese officials in Balochistan to address Beijing's concerns regarding investment in the province, which was to receive 38% of the funds.

In the Financial Times, McCain called upon the US and Pakistani leaders not to "allow ambivalence and suspicion to fester", adding that "common interests in counterterrorism, nuclear security and regional stability are too important and too urgent".

[290] On 11 January 2016, Time stated that a high-level Iranian delegation including Adel al-Jubeir and Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud had travelled to Islamabad to seek Pakistan's inclusion in the 34-country "Islamic military alliance".

[291] On 19 January 2016, Nawaz and Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif embarked on a peace mission to Riyadh and Tehran to reduce tensions which had escalated with the execution of Sheikh Nimr On 16 March 2016, Zee News claimed that Saudi Arabia was creating a military alliance of Islamic countries along the lines of the NATO, and wished Pakistan to lead it.

[318][319] The growth of Pakistan's industry, which occurred under President Ayub Khan during the 1960s,[320] was destroyed by the nationalisation program instituted by Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, to halt capital flight from the country to Eastern Europe.

[330] Jon Boone wrote in The Guardian in 2013, that following his attempts to enact Sharia Law in the late 1990s, Nawaz had adopted a more centrist position by seeking diplomatic and trade relations with India which encouraged support from left-leaning Pakistanis.

[332] Tim Craig, writing in March 2016 for The Washington Post, described Nawaz's move away from social conservatism as "traced to Sharif's ambitious economic agenda, the influence his 42-year-old daughter has over him, and his awareness that Pakistan remains the butt of jokes".

[335] Author Edward A. Gargan, writing in November 1991, described Nawaz's government as "bedeviled by gossip, barraged by accusations of venality, castigated by the opposition and threatened by a final rupture of cordiality with the United States".

"[337] Celia W. Dugger, writing in 1999, described Sharif's Raiwind Palace as "walls paneled in silken fabrics and rococo chairs laden with so much gold leaf they looked like they belonged in the court of Louis XIV or a bordello", drawing comparison between Nawaz's lifestyle and that of the "Mughals".

[342][343] On October 12, 1999, then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attempted to prevent a plane carrying General Pervez Musharraf, the Chief of Army Staff, from landing in Pakistan, effectively stranding it mid-air.

[351] The court announced its decision on 28 July 2017 and disqualified Nawaz from holding public office, stating that he had been dishonest in not disclosing his employment in the Dubai-based Capital FZE company in his nomination papers.

[353][354][355][356] In 2018, the Pakistani Supreme Court ruled in Sami Ullah Baloch v. Abdul Karim Nousherwani that Nawaz would be disqualified from holding public office for life due to his involvement in the Panama Papers case of 2017.