After the ouster of Benazir's Government, elections for the National and Provincial Assemblies were held on October 24 and 27, 1990. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the ex-Chief Minister of Punjab, was elected as the Prime Minister on November 1, 1990.During his tenure as the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif made efforts to strengthen the industrial sector with the help of the private sector. Projects like Ghazi Brotha and the Gawadar miniport were initiated. Land was distributed among landless peasants in Sindh. A massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was done during his term as Chief Minister of Punjab. Relations with the Central Asian Muslim republics were strengthened and E. C. O. was given a boost. In an attempt to end the Afghan crisis, the "Islamabad Accord" was reached between various Afghan factions. His most important contribution was economic progress despite U. S. sanctions on Pakistan through the Pressler Amendment on sanctions. The stupendous Motorway project was initiated that was completed during his second tenure.

Nawaz Sharif's Government remained in power till April 18 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly, once again exercising his power through the Eighth Amendment.

Pakistan Muslim League again won the elections held in February 1997, and Mian Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority.

Taking advantage of his absolute majority in the National Assembly, he added a landmark in the constitutional history of Pakistan by repealing the controversial Eighth Amendment. This Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment stripped the President of his powers, under Article 52(b) of the Eighth Amendment, to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve the National Assembly. He added another milestone to the Constitution when his Parliament adopted the anti-defection Fourteenth Amendment Bill. His development venture of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway has also been appreciated by a segment of the society, while others have criticized it for being an extravagance for a developing country.

During his second tenure, his working relationship with the apex court severed, and his differences with the Chief Justice came out in public. He also developed an uneasy relationship with the President, Farooq Leghari, who had earlier been his major political opponent. With the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, the President was on a direct collision course with the Prime Minster. A few months later, this, and the dramatic confrontation with the Judiciary, culminated in the removal of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Sajjad Ali Shah, and on December 2, 1997, the resignation of President Farooq Leghari.

The Fifteenth Amendment was presumed to be an effort by Nawaz Sharif to acquire additional powers for himself. Soon a serious conflict and confrontation emerged on the scene between him and the Military Generals. This confrontation led to the resignation of General Jehangir Karamat on October 7, 1998. General Karamat was replaced by General Pervez Musharraf.

The Kargil Operation in its aftermath again led to tense relations between Nawaz Sharif and the armed forces. This tension culminated into the removal of Nawaz Government by General Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999, thus bringing to an end the second term of Nawaz Sharif's Government.

They followed by two weeks five similar tests carried out by India, Pakistan's neighbor and historic enemy.theIndian tests were carried out in the desert state of Rajasthan, close to the Pakistani border. They followed by nearly a quarter century the last Indian tests conducted in 1974. Today, in a speech televised throughout Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told his people that the Pakistani tests had now settled the score with India.NAWAZ SHARIF, Prime Minister, Pakistan: (speaking through interpreter) Today God has given us the power in order to save our kingdom from danger. It was the final solution, which we had to do. In 1974, when India first carried out an atom bomb explosion, we did not have all the know-how then. This nuclear test saved us from a new danger. CHARLES KRAUSE: Sharif also announced that Pakistan's Ghauri missiles--first tested just last month--are already being capped with nuclear warheads. With a range of 900 miles, the missiles have the capability of striking most parts of India. In New Delhi, India's prime minister told parliament that the Pakistani tests had vindicated India's decision to test its own nuclear weapons earlier this month. But opposition legislators accused the government of setting off a nuclear arms race on the subcontinent. In Washington, the United States quickly condemned Pakistan's actions. President Clinton had urged Sharif repeatedly and as recently as midnight last night to refrain from today's tests.

It was during this term that Pakistan carried out its nuclear tests on May 28, 1998, in response to the Indian detonation of its five nuclear devices. The Nawaz Government had found it imperative for Pakistan to carry out these nuclear tests, in order to provide an effective defense, and to deter Indian adventurism.

The Nawaz Government proclaimed an emergency on May 28, 1998; the day these nuclear tests were conducted. All fundamental rights were suspended and all the foreign currency accounts in Pakistani banks were frozen. On August 28, 1998, Nawaz regime introduced the Fifteenth Amendment. The Bill generated heated debate throughout the country but was passed on October 9, 1998, by the members of the National Assembly. The Bill, however, was not put before the Senate within 90 days as was required by the Constitution. The Bill was held back, as Nawaz Sharif did not had the required two-third majority in the Senate.

On May 28, 1998, Pakistan became a nuclear power when it successfully carried out five nuclear tests at Chaghi, in the province of Baluchistan. This was in direct response to five nuclear explosions by India, just two weeks earlier.

Widely criticized by the international community, Pakistan maintains that its nuclear program is for self-defense, as deterrence against nuclear India. A former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, offered justification for Pakistan's nuclear program when he said that if India were to produce a bomb, Pakistan would do anything it could to get one of its own. It has always been maintained by Pakistan that a nuclear threat posed to its security can neither be met with conventional means of defense, nor by external security guarantees

Nawaz Sharif arrives at court in a guarded convoy

India had already posed a nuclear threat against Pakistan ever since it tested a nuclear device in May 1974. At that time Pakistan had no nuclear weapons. India maintained that its nuclear program was based on their requirement to have a minimum nuclear deterrence, and that it was not against any specific country. After the tit-for-tat nuclear explosions, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution urging India and Pakistan to halt their nuclear weapons programs. The United States and other Western states imposed economic sanctions against both the countries. The U. N. Secretary General, Kofi Annan, urged both the countries to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Pakistan agreed to sign if India did the same.

After the tests, both sides declared that they had completed their series of nuclear testing and both announced a moratorium on future testing. Pakistan announced the moratorium on June 11, 1998, and offered to join in new peace talks with India. Even long before these tests, Pakistan has time and again proposed for a nuclear weapon-free zone in South East Asia

Police arrest a Sharif supporter