LAHORE: Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to return to the country next month to end his more than three-year exile in the UK, some senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said Thursday.
Punjab provincial governor Baligur Rehman of PML-N said Nawaz’s daughter and chief organizer of PML-N, Maryam Nawaz, will also return from London this month to take care of the affairs of the left.
“Nawaz Sharif is coming back to Pakistan in a month and I will go to the airport to receive him,” he said.
Special assistant to the prime minister, Malik Ahmad Khan, told PTI that Nawaz, 73, is considering the party’s request to return ahead of crucial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.
Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan recently dissolved the Punjab and KP assemblies to push the federal coalition PML-N to demand snap elections in the country.
“Elections in Punjab and KP will be held after 90 days and PML-N wants Nawaz to be in Pakistan to lead the campaign in the two provinces,” said the special assistant to the prime minister.
When asked if Sharif would be back in a month, Khan replied, “Nawaz Sharif will be among his people in Pakistan very soon.”
Federal Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, a close aide to Nawaz, said the three-time prime minister would return next month. “Nawaz will return in February to defeat Khan in the political arena,” he told media.
Minister of the Interior Rana Sanaullah said Nawaz will return once relief from the cases he is facing is assured. “Nawaz will not go to jail upon his return because he will manage to get bail (before his return).”
Interestingly, another federal minister, Javed Latif, had previously given at least four different dates for Nawaz’s return.
In recent party meetings with Nawaz, most attendees urged him to return without further delay as the party faces the weight of his long absence as he may see cracks if he does not return.
In the face of the cricketer-turned-politician’s growing popularity, most local PML-N leaders are unanimous that the party needs Nawaz to be in Pakistan before the election if it is to counter the Khan juggernaut.
A ‘sick’ Nawaz is living in London for ‘medical care’ after the High Court granted him a four-week reprieve. He was serving seven years in Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore in the Al-Azizia corruption case before he left for London on medical grounds.
Prior to his release, his younger brother (Prime Minister) Shehbaz Sharif had submitted a recognizance to the Lahore High Court guaranteeing that his older brother would return “within four weeks” or upon certification by doctors that he has recovered his health and is able to return to Pakistan”.
However, the return is repeatedly delayed due to health issues.
Nawaz Sharif’s passport expired in February 2021. However, Shehbaz Sharif’s government issued a new passport to the elder Sharif in April last year.
In August 2021, Nawaz filed an appeal with the UK Immigration Court after the Home Office refused to extend his stay in the country on “medical grounds”.
Sharif can legally stay in the UK until the court rules on his plea for staying in the country.
Punjab provincial governor Baligur Rehman of PML-N said Nawaz’s daughter and chief organizer of PML-N, Maryam Nawaz, will also return from London this month to take care of the affairs of the left.
“Nawaz Sharif is coming back to Pakistan in a month and I will go to the airport to receive him,” he said.
Special assistant to the prime minister, Malik Ahmad Khan, told PTI that Nawaz, 73, is considering the party’s request to return ahead of crucial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.
Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan recently dissolved the Punjab and KP assemblies to push the federal coalition PML-N to demand snap elections in the country.
“Elections in Punjab and KP will be held after 90 days and PML-N wants Nawaz to be in Pakistan to lead the campaign in the two provinces,” said the special assistant to the prime minister.
When asked if Sharif would be back in a month, Khan replied, “Nawaz Sharif will be among his people in Pakistan very soon.”
Federal Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, a close aide to Nawaz, said the three-time prime minister would return next month. “Nawaz will return in February to defeat Khan in the political arena,” he told media.
Minister of the Interior Rana Sanaullah said Nawaz will return once relief from the cases he is facing is assured. “Nawaz will not go to jail upon his return because he will manage to get bail (before his return).”
Interestingly, another federal minister, Javed Latif, had previously given at least four different dates for Nawaz’s return.
In recent party meetings with Nawaz, most attendees urged him to return without further delay as the party faces the weight of his long absence as he may see cracks if he does not return.
In the face of the cricketer-turned-politician’s growing popularity, most local PML-N leaders are unanimous that the party needs Nawaz to be in Pakistan before the election if it is to counter the Khan juggernaut.
A ‘sick’ Nawaz is living in London for ‘medical care’ after the High Court granted him a four-week reprieve. He was serving seven years in Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore in the Al-Azizia corruption case before he left for London on medical grounds.
Prior to his release, his younger brother (Prime Minister) Shehbaz Sharif had submitted a recognizance to the Lahore High Court guaranteeing that his older brother would return “within four weeks” or upon certification by doctors that he has recovered his health and is able to return to Pakistan”.
However, the return is repeatedly delayed due to health issues.
Nawaz Sharif’s passport expired in February 2021. However, Shehbaz Sharif’s government issued a new passport to the elder Sharif in April last year.
In August 2021, Nawaz filed an appeal with the UK Immigration Court after the Home Office refused to extend his stay in the country on “medical grounds”.
Sharif can legally stay in the UK until the court rules on his plea for staying in the country.
