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US Sweats Sharif's Return

Former PM seen as allied with Islamists, soft on terror

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 27, 2007 2:36 PM CST

(Newser) – Even as Nawaz Sharif paints his return to Pakistan as a watershed moment, Washington is fretting over the implications of the Islamist-linked ex-PM's resurgence. Sharif has a reputation for being hostile to women’s rights and slow on social and economic expansion, the Wall Street Journal reports, but the US is more concerned about his perceived softness on terror.

Sharif's supporters point to his help in hunting Osama bin Laden during the Clinton years, but US officials counter by highlighting his attempt to institute Islamic penal codes. One US official says Sharif’s “agenda is to walk away from advances” in society. Nevertheless, one insider says, if he takes the reins again, "we'd probably have a working relationship."

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets with supporters at his home before leaving to register as a candidate for Pakistan's elections, in Lahore Monday Nov. 26, 2007. Sharif, fresh from a triumphant return from exile, registered Monday as a candidate for Pakistan's crucial elections. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets with supporters at his home before leaving to register as a candidate for Pakistan's elections, in Lahore Monday Nov. 26, 2007. Sharif, fresh from a...   (Associated Press)
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speaks at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club in Lahore, Pakistan Tuesday Nov. 27, 2007. Sharif, who registered Monday as a candidate for Pakistan's elections, went to the Press Club to express support for journalists protesting against media restrictions under the emergency...
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speaks at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club in Lahore, Pakistan Tuesday Nov. 27, 2007. Sharif, who registered Monday as a candidate for Pakistan's...   (Associated Press)
A Pakistani boy hold a poster in support of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, outside Sharif's home in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007. Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif registered to run in Pakistan's critical elections next month and his archrival, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, prepared to step down...
A Pakistani boy hold a poster in support of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, outside Sharif's home in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007. Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif registered...   (Associated Press)
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chant outside the airport in Lahore, as they await his arrival Sunday Nov. 25, 2007. Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned home to a chaotic and jubilant welcome Sunday and immediately took the fight to the man who ousted him, saying...
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chant outside the airport in Lahore, as they await his arrival Sunday Nov. 25, 2007. Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned home...   (Associated Press)
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