Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif

Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: كلثوم نواز شريف; born: 1950) is a Pakistani professor, politician and the current First Lady of Pakistan, her third non-consecutive time. Born into a Kashmiri family in Lahore, she is a granddaughter of wrestler Gama Pehelwan.^[1] She attended Islamia College and Forman Christian College University for her graduation and completed her PhD from the University of Punjab. Kalsoom is married to politician Nawaz Sharif, with whom she has four children. Kalsoom became the president of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in 1999, but resigned from the post in 2002.

Early life and education

Kalsoom was born in Lahore into a Kashmiri family. Her father was Hafiz Butt, and her mother was the daughter of wrestler Ghulam Muhammad (also known as The Great Gama).^[1] Kalsoom has two sisters and a brother.^[2] Kalsoom did intermediate from the Islamia College, and Bachelors from the Forman Christian College University. Kalsoom completed her MA and PhD from the University of Punjab after marriage.

She is married to Nawaz Sharif, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan. She has four children with Nawaz, two daughters, and two sons. Her daughter, Maryam, is the chairperson of her father's youth initiative, and the wife of politician Muhammad Safdar Awan. Her other daughter, Asma, is married to Ali Dar, the son of Ishaq Dar, the current finance minister of Pakistan, while both of her sons, Hassan and Hussain, are businessmen.^[3] Her father-in-law, Muhammad Sharif, was the founder of Ittefaq Group, while her brother-in-law, Shehbaz Sharif, and nephew, Hamza Sharif, are politicians, the former of whom is the current Chief Minister of Punjab. Kalsoom lives in Lahore at Sharif Palace, with her family.

Political career

Kalsoom is the First Lady of Pakistan for a third non-consecutive term; she remained at the post from 1990 to 1993 and 1997 to 1999.^[3][4][5] Kalsoom avoided involvement in national politics. During the years that her husband, Nawaz Sharif, twice became the prime minister or even led the opposition against the then arch-rival Benazir Bhutto, Kalsoom avoided getting involved in politics herself.^[6]

However, this was changed when Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup d'état against her husband on 12 October 1999. Kalsoom was arrested by female members of the Pakistan Army Corps of Military Police and immediately shifted to her local residence unlike her husband who was taken to Adiala Jail.^[6] According to her daughter, Maryam Nawaz, Kalsoom "dauntlessly challenged the usurper when a lot of men backed out".^[6] Sharif named Kalsoom as the president of Pakistan Muslim League in 1999, and she remained on post till 2002.^[6] For months before the exile of Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia, Kalsoom built a momentum for political activity. It paid off in the form of putting an end to the agony of her husband in jail.^[6]

References