Nawaz Sharif, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan for three terms, is making his return to Pakistan today after spending four years in self-imposed exile in London.
In Dubai airport, ahead of his return, Nawaz Sharif expressed his concern over the tumultuous situation prevailing in his homeland. He remarked that the current state of affairs in Pakistan is exceedingly chaotic and deeply unsettling.
Nawaz Sharif, who secured a decisive victory in 2013, faced significant challenges during his final term as Prime Minister. It began with a prolonged opposition-led protest in Islamabad and culminated in his disqualification by the Supreme Court in 2017. This disqualification resulted from his failure to discontinue receiving a salary from his son’s company, according to reports by Geo News.
Sharif was subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison and fined 8 million Euros (equivalent to Pakistani Rupees 1.3 billion) on July 6, 2018, in the Avenfield reference case. Notably, at that time, Sharif was in London. Following an appeal to the Islamabad High Court, a significant development occurred when the IHC ordered the temporary suspension of sentences for Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, and Captain Muhammad Safdar while directing their release.
However, in December 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) sentenced Nawaz Sharif to a seven-year jail term and imposed a fine of PKR 1.5 billion in the Al-Azizia sugar mills reference. This led to his arrest in the courtroom immediately after the accountability court judge’s verdict in response to the graft case, which was initiated in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2016 Panamagate verdict. This verdict also resulted in Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification from holding any public office for a period of ten years.
In October 2019, while serving his sentence in the Al-Azizia case, Nawaz Sharif was diagnosed with an immune system disorder. Following this medical diagnosis, healthcare professionals recommended that he seek medical treatment abroad.
Nawaz Sharif was granted interim bail on medical grounds related to the sugar mills case. Subsequently, the Islamabad High Court extended his bail for eight weeks in the Al-Azizia case due to his deteriorating health.
In November 2019, the Lahore High Court granted Nawaz Sharif permission to travel abroad for a period of four weeks. The court directed the government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to remove his name from the no-fly list without imposing any conditions. This decision was made after Nawaz Sharif provided the court with a legally-approved undertaking, assuring his return within the specified time, as reported by Geo News.
The court also granted Nawaz Sharif the flexibility to extend his stay abroad based on medical reports, initially allowing him to leave the country for four weeks. Subsequently, Nawaz Sharif obtained protective bail in two corruption cases, and an accountability court suspended his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case, effectively removing all legal barriers to his smooth return to Pakistan.
In preparation for Nawaz Sharif’s return, the PML-N party is organizing a grand welcome for the former Prime Minister on October 21. Party leaders and supporters from all corners of Pakistan are converging in Lahore for a large-scale rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, with multiple special trains arranged to ensure their participation, as reported by Geo News.
