Ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz to return home in October after 4-year exile

Islamabad, Aug 25 (EFE).- Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister of Pakistan, is scheduled to return home in October following a four-year period of exile, his younger brother and the current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Friday.

“We have engaged in consultations with the senior leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, and we have reached a decision that our leader, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, will make his return to Pakistan in October,” the prime minister told reporters in London.

PML-N shared a video of the Sharif brothers with other party leaders as the prime minister addressed the media.

However, Shehbaz Sharif did not provide the exact date for the return of the former prime minister, who was ousted and jailed for corruption.

“He will come to Pakistan and face the law. There are no two opinions about that,” the prime minister said.

Nawaz Sharif served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1990 to 1993, 1997 to 1999, and 2013 to 2017.

In 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, linked to alleged acquisition of luxury flats in London by his family members.

In 2019, he traveled to the United Kingdom on bail for medical treatment abroad, with a commitment to return.

However, he continued his stay in the UK, effectively placing himself in self-imposed exile.

His return to the changing political landscape of Pakistan has become a prominent topic of discussion among various politicians after Shehbaz Sharif assumed the role of prime minister after a parliamentary vote removed Imran Khan in April 2022.

In July, Shehbaz Sharif indicated that his brother’s return was imminent.

Addressing a rally, the younger Sharif vowed Nawaz Sharif will guide Pakistan towards progress if the people granted him another opportunity to lead the nation.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified permanently from holding any public office after his conviction. But his brother’s government amended the laws, reducing the disqualification period to five years.

The amendment potentially paves the way for him to contest the upcoming elections, which Pakistan is slated to conduct later this year. EFE

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