Realism missing in Delhi assessment of Sharif

August 25, 2013 12:59

In 1982, a relatively unknown Pakistani politician named Nawaz Sharif hosted what he called a "small lunch' for the visiting Indian cricket team, at his palatial residence in Raiwind near Lahore.

There were some 3,000 guests at Sharif's "small lunch'. Sharif belonged to a new breed of Muslim League politicians, being brought together by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq to ally with the military, together with parties like the Jamat-e-Islami, to counter the popular support for Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples' Party.

Backed by then Army chief General Aslam Beg and ISI, Sharif was swept to power and elected PM in November 1990. He remains a passionate cricket enthusiast and a great lover of Bollywood films and musical hits, of the '50s and '60s.

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