Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has returned to Islamabad from Dubai after a self-imposed exile in London that lasted four years, just ahead of Pakistan’s general elections.
A large gathering of PML-N supporters and his legal team welcomed him at the airport. Sharif is set to sign petitions for the reinstatement of his appeals in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases before heading to Lahore. The flight, dubbed “Umeed-e-Pakistan” (Hope of Pakistan) by the party, departed from Dubai at 10:42 am PS and will make its way to Lahore, where a grand reception at Minar-e-Pakistan awaits him.
Sharif had traveled to London for medical treatment on November 19, 2019, after the Imran Khan-led government removed his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) and the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment. He was diagnosed with an immune system disorder while serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia sugar mills case, a conviction handed down in December 2018.
In July 2018, Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail following his conviction in the Avenfield reference, but the sentence was later suspended by the Islamabad High Court.
The Islamabad High Court has granted protective bail for Nawaz Sharif until October 24, barring authorities from arresting him upon his return to Pakistan. This decision came in response to a petition filed by the former prime minister through his lawyer, Amjad Parvez. The court stated that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not object to the protective bail, and granted bail until October 24, adjourning the hearing to Monday.
Additionally, an accountability court in the federal capital has suspended the arrest warrants issued for Sharif in the Toshakhana case.
Upon reaching Lahore, Nawaz Sharif is expected to address party leaders and workers at Minar-e-Pakistan, now known as Greater Iqbal Park. Various party leaders are leading convoys from different parts of the country to welcome him. Heavy police contingents have been deployed in Lahore to ensure security, with hundreds of constables present at the gathering. The Punjab Home department and the police are on high alert due to potential security threats to Sharif. The PML-N leadership has also arranged for an aerial flower shower to greet him, in collaboration with a private airline that obtained the necessary approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority.
