ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader set to become Pakistani prime minister for a historic third term, is a millionaire steel tycoon, considered strong on the economy but soft on the Taleban.
The 63-year-old, who was sentenced to life in prison after being deposed in a military coup in 1999, has a powerbase rooted in Pakistan’s richest and most populous province, where he is known as the Lion of the Punjab.
Immaculately groomed and dressed always in a pristine shalwar kamiz with a sharply cut waistcoat, he appeared relaxed and satisfied as he declared victory for his center-right Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party.
But after campaigning as a statesman in waiting, he inherits an impossible job, not just in stitching together a coalition government but in taking on the enormous problems of the sagging economy and a stifling energy crisis.
“We should thank Allah that he has given PML-N another chance to serve you and Pakistan,” he told jubilant supporters who shouted “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif” and his nickname “lion” as they danced and waved flags overnight.
According to the unofficial, partial results it appeared that no single party would win a simple majority of 172 seats in the national assembly, raising the prospect of protracted talks to form a coalition government.
Prime minister twice already, from 1990 to 1993, and from 1997 to 1999, but softly spoken and shy with the international media, he is considered a pragmatist in the West despite comments opposing US intervention in the war on Al-Qaeda.
He has also called for peace talks with the Pakistani Taleban, blamed for killing thousands of Pakistanis in the past six years.
Sharif was born on Dec. 25, 1949 into a wealthy family of industrialists in Lahore, the capital of Punjab and the political nerve center of Pakistan.
He was educated privately at English-language schools and secured a degree in law from the University of Punjab before joining his father’s steel company.
The family suffered hugely when Pakistan’s center-left prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto nationalized private industry in the 1970s and as the elder son, Sharif was quickly dispatched into politics.
Under the patronage of military ruler Zia-ul Haq he became first finance minister and then chief minister of Punjab — a post he held for five years from 1985 until he was elected prime minister in 1990.
He beat arch-rival Benazir Bhutto in the polls and served a three-year term until he was sacked on corruption charges and replaced by Bhutto.
In 1997, he won a landslide two-thirds majority for his PML-N and set about cementing his liberal economic policies.
He privatized state industries and built a high-speed motorway from the northwestern city of Peshawar to Lahore on the Indian border.
In 1998, he won huge popularity when he made Pakistan a nuclear power, but his government buckled under tensions with the army, which in 1999 seized power.
Sharif was sentenced in a military court to life imprisonment for hijacking and terrorism, before being allowed to go into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000.
After seven years in the wilderness he was allowed to return in 2007 and his PML-N party came second in the 2008 election, won by the Pakistan People’s Party on a wave of sympathy following the assassination of its leader Bhutto.
Corruption, tax evasion and money-laundering allegations against the Sharifs, who have a huge family estate near Lahore, have never been proved in court.
Sharif has promised to transform the country’s economy, end corruption in state-owned enterprises build a motorway from Lahore to Karachi, Pakistan’s business capital on the Arabian Sea, and launch a bullet train.
Analysts believe he will have little option but to negotiate a fresh loan from the International Monetary Fund, to stave off a balance of payments crisis, but Sharif says he believes Pakistan can survive on its own resources.
His younger brother, Shahbaz, considered more intelligent but less charismatic than Nawaz, has been chief minister for the past five years of Punjab, where he has built bridges and inaugurated Pakistan’s first metro bus service.
Sharif is married and has four children. His daughter Maryam has campaigned on his behalf in his Lahore constituency, earning praise for a charisma that has earmarked her out as his possible successor.
Sharif ‘The Lion’ wins a third term
Sharif ‘The Lion’ wins a third term
Pakistan, UAE voice concern over Israel-Iran war as Trump seeks ‘end’ to nuclear threat
- UAE and Pakistan stress urgent need to support efforts for regional peace and stability
- Trump says reporters will ‘find out’ where the situation is headed in the next two days
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates expressed deep concern over Israel’s escalating war with Iran, the foreign office said on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to Iran’s nuclear program and warned of potential new developments in the coming days.
The exchange between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, took place over a phone call, according to the official intimation.
The war between Iran and US ally Israel, which began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, has alarmed a region already on edge since Israel’s military assault on Gaza began in October 2023.
Iran launched its own retaliatory missile attacks, targeting dozens of strategic sites in Israel, as civilian casualties mounted on both sides. There has been no sign of de-escalation so far, with both sides continuing to strike military and economic targets, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar received a call from the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” the foreign office of Pakistan said in a social media post.
“The two leaders discussed the evolving regional situation in the wake of Israel’s military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” it added. “They expressed deep concern over the escalating tensions and underscored the urgent need to support efforts for ensuring regional peace and stability.”
Earlier, Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from a Group of Seven summit in Canada.
He said he may send US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to Iran for talks, but added, “it depends on what happens when I get back.”
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,” he continued, adding that he wanted a “real end” to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with Tehran “giving up entirely” on any weapons program.
The US president also warned residents in Tehran to evacuate amid fears of further escalation, but remained vague about Israel’s next steps in the conflict.
“You’re going to find out over the next two days,” he said. “Nobody’s slowed up so far.”
With input from Reuters
Israel’s offensive on Iran is a threat to everyone says Jordan’s King to EU parliament
AMMAN: Israel’s expanded offensive on Iran is a threat to everyone, said Jordan’s King Abduallah II to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
“There is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end… the attacks on Iran threaten a dangerous escalation in our region and beyond,” he said.
“If our global community fails to act decisively we become complicit in rewriting what it means to be human. If Israeli bulldozers continue to illegally demolish Palestinian homes, olive trees and infrastructure, so too will they flatten the rails that defy moral grounds,” he added.
He reiterated the need for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state and the importance of granting Palestinians the right to freedom and statehood.
“Global security won’t be assured until the global community acts to end the three-year war in Ukraine and the world’s longest and most destructive flashpoint, the eight-decade-long Palestinian Israeli conflict,” said AlHussein.
The King cited the failure of international law and intervention in Gaza and said what was considered an atrocity 20 months ago has now become routine.
“Weaponizing famine against children, targeting of health workers, journalists and children have all become normalized after the failure of the international community,” he said.
Europe’s leadership will be vital in choosing the right course of history, said the King and assured Jordans position in its support to the EU.
“This conflict must end and the solution is rooted in international law. The path to peace has been walked before, and it can be walked again if we have the courage to choose it and the will to walk it together,” he concluded.
FDI into developing economies slumps to lowest level since 2005: World Bank
RIYADH: Foreign direct investment flows into developing economies dropped to $435 billion in 2023, the lowest level since 2005, as rising trade barriers, geopolitical tensions and growing fragmentation curbed cross-border investment.
In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank said FDI into advanced economies also dropped, sinking to $336 billion — the weakest level since 1996.
While data for the 2023 calendar year is the latest available from the World Bank, net FDI into Saudi Arabia — one of the world’s top emerging markets — reached SR22.1 billion ($5.89 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2024, representing a 26 percent increase compared to the previous three months, according to the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics.
Saudi Arabia is aiming to attract $100 billion in FDI annually by the end of this decade, as it seeks to make significant strides in diversifying its economy and reducing its decades-long dependence on oil revenues.
Commenting on the findings, Indermit Gill, chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank Group, said: “What we’re seeing is a result of public policy. It’s not a coincidence that FDI is plumbing new lows at the same time that public debt is reaching record highs.”
He added: “Private investment will now have to power economic growth, and FDI happens to be one of the most productive forms of private investment. Yet, in recent years, governments have been busy erecting barriers to investment and trade when they should be deliberately taking them down. They will have to ditch that bad habit.”
FDI inflows to developing countries in 2023 accounted for just 2.3 percent of their combined gross domestic product — about half the share recorded in the 2008 peak.
The report noted that inflows had expanded rapidly in the 2000s, peaking at nearly 5 percent of GDP in 2008, but have since steadily declined.
Between 2012 and 2023, two-thirds of FDI into developing countries was concentrated in just 10 markets. China captured nearly a third of the total, while Brazil and India accounted for about 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
Advanced economies accounted for nearly 90 percent of total FDI in developing economies over the past decade, with about half of that originating from the EU and the US, the World Bank noted.
Earlier this month, global credit rating agency S&P Global said FDI inflows into Gulf Cooperation Council countries are expected to slow in 2025 due to rising investor uncertainty. The outlook reflects shifting US trade policies, lower oil prices, and a more gradual rollout of economic diversification projects in the region.
S&P Global also forecast a net negative impact on global FDI in the near term, driven by the indirect effects of US tariffs, a weaker oil price outlook, and declining global investor confidence.
Combating challenges and easing restrictions
The World Bank urged developing nations to ease investment restrictions that have accumulated in recent years, promote trade integration, and broaden participation in their economies.
Ayhan Kose, the World Bank Group’s deputy chief economist and director of the Prospects Group, said the sharp drop in FDI for developing countries “should sound alarm bells.”
He added: “Reversing this slowdown is not just an economic imperative — it’s essential for job creation, sustained growth, and achieving broader development goals. It will require bold domestic reforms to improve the business climate and decisive global cooperation to revive cross-border investment.”
The report also outlined policy priorities for developing economies to increase FDI, including accelerating improvements in the investment climate — progress that has stalled in many countries over the past decade.
Saudi Arabia is among the countries making notable strides to attract FDI by introducing regulatory reforms aimed at easing restrictions.
In August, the Kingdom approved an updated investment law designed to boost transparency and simplify the investment process, as part of broader efforts to facilitate and expand FDI.
The updated rule also promises enhanced protections for investors, including adherence to the rule of law, fair treatment, and property rights, alongside robust safeguards for intellectual property and seamless fund transfers.
In April, Saudi Arabia rose to 13th place in Kearney’s 2025 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, up from 14th in the previous year’s ranking.
The Kingdom also retained its position as the third-most attractive emerging market, signaling continued global confidence in its transformation strategy.
Kearney noted that the ranking reflects Saudi Arabia’s bold, reform-driven approach to building an internationally competitive, future-ready economy.
The World Bank emphasized that countries should amplify the economic impacts of foreign investment by promoting trade integration, improving institutional quality, fostering human capital development, and encouraging broader participation in the formal economy to maximize FDI benefits.
“Governments can also amplify the benefits by channeling FDI to sectors where the impact is greatest. FDI can also help increase job opportunities for women: the domestic affiliates of multinational enterprises, for example, tend to have a higher share of female employees than domestic firms,” the report stated.
Saudi Arabia is also among the global frontrunners in efforts to bridge the gender gap in the workforce.
Speaking during the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh in October, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, said the nation aims to achieve 40 percent female workforce participation by the end of the decade, having already surpassed its Vision 2030 target of 30 percent.
He added that 45 percent of small and medium enterprises in the Kingdom are headed by women.
Underscoring the importance of global cooperation, the World Bank urged all countries to work together to accelerate policy initiatives that can help direct FDI flows to developing economies with the largest investment gaps.
“Technical and financial assistance to support structural reform efforts in developing countries — especially low-income countries — are critical for facilitating FDI inflows,” the bank concluded.
Designer Alina Anwar takes over Times Square
DUBAI: Dubai-based designer Alina Anwar, founder of Alina Anwar Couture, this week appeared on a digital billboard in Times Square, New York.
Well known for dressing celebrities in Hollywood and Bollywood, including Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kareena Kapoor and Idina Menzel, Anwar has expanded her reach internationally with her gowns and suits.
The billboard featured Anwar, who is famous for her structured silhouettes and feminine designs, wearing a red sequined skirt from her own collection, accompanied by her brand’s statement: “My aim is to empower women through powerful dressing and to set them on a path of personal freedom and possibilities.”
In a statement she said: “I created this brand to empower women, to make them feel confident, unstoppable and seen. To have that vision now broadcast in Times Square is surreal, but it’s also just the beginning.”
Anwar’s brand is a luxury eveningwear label that creates gowns and tea-length dresses using contemporary couture techniques and French finishing. The brand’s pieces feature fine fabrics and detailed tailoring, and are made in the UAE.
In 2019, her work gained global attention when US singer Mariah Carey wore one of her designs in a remake of the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” music video, released to mark the song’s 25th anniversary. Carey wore a pine green, fully sequined, long-sleeved cocktail dress with a scooped neckline, designed by Anwar.
“I hope to see more and more Hollywood stars wear my brand and as a Dubai-based fashion label, I am so overwhelmed by the trust that they are giving me. I am here to advocate UAE-made products (that) are world-class,” Anwar said at the time.
Anwar is not the only regional figure to appear on a Times Square billboard.
Several Arab artists have featured in recent years.
Egyptian singer Amr Diab became the first Arab musical artist to appear on a Spotify billboard in Times Square in 2019.
Since then, others have followed, including Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, who was featured in December as part of Spotify Arabia’s “EQUAL” campaign spotlighting female artists from the region.
Jordan's King to deliver speech at the EU parliament
STRASBOURG: Jordan's King Abdullah II is set to deliver a speech at the European Union parliment in Strasbourg France on Tuesday.
In his address, he is expected to focus on a range of issues, including the devastating war in Gaza and its consequences.
This will be King Abdullah's sixth visit to the European Parliament, following his previous visits in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2020.
The king is also scheduled to meet European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
