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Article: Last chance in Pakistan: if Nawaz Sharif does not acquit himself well, the new prime minister may be signing Pakistani democracy's death warrant.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 8, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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EVEN after a landslide victory, it is hard to summon up much enthusiasm for the return of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister of Pakistan. When last in power, Mr Sharif ran a government that was generally regarded as thuggish and corrupt. His spell in office was cut short in 1993, by order of the president. That Mr Sharif's successor, Benazir Bhutto, appears to have presided over an even more corrupt administration may have persuaded many Pakistanis to give Mr Sharif another try. But even more voters appear to have despaired of both Pakistan's leading political figures. Little more than one in three Pakistanis bothered to vote in the general election on February 3rd (see page ...