Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to return home in October after approximately four years in self-imposed exile in London, Pakistani local media reported. Sharif could return in the second week of October.
Media also reported from London that Sharif is now speaking with his party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), politicians and party workers.
A Pakistani newspaper reported that he “spoke about his return, but a clear date for travel has not been disclosed”.
The PML-N workers also started an outreach programme highlighting Nawaz Sharif’s contributions as prime minister, which can be seen as an attempt to change public opinion ahead of the party supremo’s anticipated return.
“Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in October and lead the election campaign, and this has been decided after the PML-N party consultations”, former Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was quoted as saying earlier.
Nawaz resigned as Pakistan’s prime minister in 2016 after the country’s Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets. In July 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a corruption case, and in 2019, he left the country after being diagnosed with an immune system disorder. In 2020, Nawaz Sharif was declared absconding.
In July, the Pakistani government said that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's lifetime disqualification had ended, and that he is eligible to compete in elections.
However, it is yet to be known if other cases against Nawaz Sharif, including the absconding charges, will continue or not upon his arrival.