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Pakistan’s New Prime Minister Calls for End to Drone Strikes Pakistan’s New Premier Calls for End to Drone Strikes
(about 4 hours later)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, called for an end to American drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt on Wednesday, shortly after he won a parliamentary vote to lead the country for an unparalleled third time. LONDON — Nawaz Sharif took office as Pakistan’s prime minister for an unparalleled third time on Wednesday, vowing to tackle the country’s crippling electricity crisis and issuing an urgent call for the end of American drone strikes on Pakistani soil.
“The chapter of daily drone attacks should stop,” Mr. Sharif told the packed lower house of Parliament, where he won a comfortable majority of votes. “We respect sovereignty of other countries but others should also respect our sovereignty.” “The chapter of daily drone attacks should stop,” a grave-faced Mr. Sharif told the packed lower house of Parliament, where he won a comfortable majority of votes to become prime minister. “We respect the sovereignty of other countries, but others should also respect our sovereignty.”
Hours later, Mr. Sharif, 63, was formally sworn in by President Asif Ali Zardari at a brief ceremony within the Presidency, a soaring, white-walled building overlooking Islamabad. Those comments resonated with many Pakistanis who view the C.I.A. missile strikes as a troubling symbol of American aggression – even if they occasionally kill Pakistan’s own enemies, like the country’s deputy Taliban leader, Wali ur-Rehman, who died in an attack last week.
It has been a remarkable comeback for Mr. Sharif, a Punjabi politician who served as prime minister twice in the 1990s before being ousted in a military coup in 1999. He enjoys a strong mandate, following a sweeping win by his Pakistan Muslim League party in the May 11 general election. But the rate of drone strikes is already declining sharply, amid tough scrutiny of the program in the United States and new restrictions from President Obama. And though the drone issue was a galvanizing one through the campaign season, Mr. Sharif is likely to face even more complex foreign policy challenges now that he is in office.
But Mr. Sharif is returning to power at a difficult time. In his speech to Parliament on Wednesday, he alluded to some of the most difficult challenges facing his administration including soaring government debt, high unemployment, lawlessness and corruption. “Drones are just a side show,” said Mosharraf Zaidi, a former adviser to Pakistan’s foreign ministry. “The bigger issue is the American drawdown from Afghanistan in 2014 and what it leaves behind for Pakistan to deal with.”
It has been a remarkable comeback for Mr. Sharif, a Punjabi steel tycoon whose previous stint as prime minister was abruptly truncated by a military coup in 1999, forcing him into a seven-year exile in Saudi Arabia and London.
Now, after a sweeping victory by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party in the May 11 election, he returns to power with a strong mandate – one that he will have to employ if he is to tackle the country’s daunting array of urgent challenges.
In his speech to Parliament, Mr. Sharif alluded to some of those issues: soaring government debt, a sagging economy, lawlessness and corruption. Other issues that received little mention, but are equally pressing, include the festering Taliban insurgency in the northwest, Baluch separatism in the southwest, and strained relations with neighboring India and Afghanistan.
Mr. Sharif said he could not promise to resolve those problems quickly, but he vowed to promote a culture of transparency. “My government will not tolerate any form of corruption,” he said as legislators thumped their desks in approval.Mr. Sharif said he could not promise to resolve those problems quickly, but he vowed to promote a culture of transparency. “My government will not tolerate any form of corruption,” he said as legislators thumped their desks in approval.
Mr. Sharif’s comment on drone strikes suggested a firm, and perhaps more distant, tone in relations with the United States, whose alliance with Pakistan has frequently been stormy in recent years. His comment on drone strikes suggested a firm, and perhaps more distant, tone in relations with the United States, whose alliance with Pakistan has frequently been stormy in recent years.
During the election campaign, Mr. Sharif vowed to limit American influence in the country. He boasted of having resisted American diplomatic and economic pressure to carry out the country’s first nuclear tests in 1998. And he criticized C.I.A.-operated drone strikes, which have become a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment. During the campaign, Mr. Sharif vowed to limit American influence in the country and drew a firm line against continued drone strikes. He boasted of having resisted American diplomatic and economic pressure in ordering the country’s first nuclear tests in 1998.
Analysts caution, however, that Mr. Sharif’s rhetoric may have been driven by political considerations, with some suggesting that he may be more pragmatic toward the United States once in office. Analysts caution, however, that Mr. Sharif’s rhetoric may have been driven by political considerations, and some suggest that he may be more pragmatic toward the United States once in office.
In contrast, Mr. Sharif has promoted warmer relations with China. In Parliament he promised to increase economic cooperation with Beijing, including the completion of road and rail links between the Pakistani ports of Gwadar and Karachi, on the Arabian Sea, and the landlocked cities of western China. In contrast, Mr. Sharif has openly promoted warmer relations with China. In Parliament, he promised to increase economic cooperation with Beijing, including the completion of road and rail links between the Pakistani ports of Gwadar and Karachi, on the Arabian Sea, and the landlocked cities of western China.
Mr. Sharif’s return to power after nearly 14 years also coincides with a landmark for Pakistan’s fragile democracy – the first time that a civilian government in Pakistan has served a full, five-year term, and peacefully passed power to another administration. Hours after his address, Mr. Sharif was sworn in by his rival, President Asif Ali Zardari, during a brief ceremony at the soaring presidency building that overlooks the capital, Islamabad. Mr. Zardari is to remain in office until September, and though relations between the two men have been tense at times, in recent months there has been little sign of open enmity.
Mr. Sharif’s political comeback looked distant in December 2000, when the former military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, banished him into exile in Saudi Arabia, one year after the coup that ousted him. Mr. Sharif’s return to power is the first time in Pakistan’s fragile democracy that a civilian government has served a full five-year term and peacefully passed power to another administration.
Back then, Mr. Sharif enjoyed little public support because of accusations of corruption and mismanagement, while the military coup received a broad, if short-lived, welcome. But General Musharraf’s nine-year rule saw the country suffer from a rise in military violence and political instability. Mr. Sharif’s comeback looked distant in December 2000, when the military leader at the time, Gen. Pervis Musharraf, banished him into exile in Saudi Arabia, a year after the coup that ousted him.
Mr. Sharif and his opposition rival, Benazir Bhutto, returned from exile in late 2007. Ms. Bhutto died in a militant attack later that year but her party, led by her husband, Mr. Zardari, won the 2008 general elections. Back then, Mr. Sharif enjoyed little public support because of accusations of corruption and mismanagement, while the military coup received a broad, if short-lived, welcome. General Musharraf’s nine-year rule, however, Pakistan saw a rise in military violence and political instability.
While the Zardari government introduced some important laws and constitutional changes, it lost the public’s trust amid persistent accusations of mismanagement and corruption, as well as the effects of a painful electricity crisis. Mr. Sharif and his opposition rival, Benazir Bhutto, returned from exile in late 2007. Ms. Bhutto was killed in a suicide bombing that year but her party, led by her husband, Mr. Zardari, won the 2008 general elections.
Mr. Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party was trounced in the May 11 election, but remains the country’s second largest political force, just ahead of a grouping led by former cricketer Imran Khan. While the Zardari government introduced important constitutional changes and laws that strengthened women’s rights, it lost the public’s trust amid persistent accusations of mismanagement and corruption, as well as the effects of a painful electricity crisis.
And in a twist of fate, Pervez Musharraf, who ousted Mr. Sharif in 1999, is under house arrest at his villa outside Islamabad facing a litany of court cases including a possible treason prosecution. Although Mr. Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party was trounced in the May 11 election, it remains the country’s second-largest political force, just ahead of a grouping led by the former cricketer Imran Khan.
Since his years in exile, Mr. Sharif, a wealthy steel industrialist, has recast himself as a seasoned politician who is resistant to military interference in politics, and who is determined to uphold the principles of democracy. Beyond dealing with Mr. Zardari’s party, Mr. Sharif faces a more immediate, and longer-standing, test from the military command that toppled him in 1999.
He consolidated his political base in Punjab, the country’s wealthiest and most populous province, where his Pakistan Muslim League party controlled the provincial government. In the years since his return to Pakistan, Mr. Sharif has done little to hide his hostility toward military meddling in democratic politics, and that sense of suspicion was reciprocated by the military top brass. During the negotiations to resolve the 2008 political crisis, the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, told the American ambassador, Anne Patterson, that “regardless of how much he disliked Zardari, he distrusted Sharif even more,” according to a State Department cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010.
But at the center, in Islamabad, Mr. Sharif’s party faced accusations of being an ineffective opposition to Mr. Zardari’s government. But as elections neared this year, Mr. Sharif toned down his hostility. He says that he will also hold the defense and foreign affairs portfolios himself – a move that some interpret as an effort to coordinate policy on sensitive issues, like Afghanistan and Islamist militancy, with the military.
As prime minister, Mr. Sharif faces a plethora of daunting challenges, including a festering Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country, Baluch separatism in the southwest, a sagging economy and strained relations with neighboring countries. One early litmus test of that relationship r may lie in the fate of General Musharraf, who is under house arrest at his villa on the edge of Islamabad facing a litany of court cases.
How Mr. Sharif deals with the debilitating energy crisis will be his first test of dealing with the public discontent. The Supreme Court has ruled that Mr. Sharif must decide whether Mr. Musharraf should also face treason charges, which carry a possible death penalty – something most analysts believe is unlikely.
Several small political parties had announced their support for Mr. Sharif before the voting Wednesday.

Declan Walsh reported from London, and Salman Masood from Islamabad.

Aftab Khan Sherpao, a former interior minister who leads one of those parties, said the most important issues facing Mr. Sharif were “security, energy and economy.”

Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Declan Walsh reported from London.