Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo Nawaz Sharif today returned to the country four years after a self-imposed exile in London. Sharif reached Islamabad in a chartered flight and will later address a rally at Minar-i-Pakistan at 5pm today. Before leaving for Islamabad from Dubai airport today, Sharif lamented the ‘very chaotic’ situation in his country. Talking to the media at the airport, Sharif said that sadly the country is in a much worse situation rather than being in a good position. “The situation in Pakistan is very chaotic and that is very worrying,” said Nawaz.
Nawaz Sharif, three-time former Prime Minister, returned to Pakistan today after a four-year-long self-imposed exile in London. Nawaz Sharif’s final term, following a resounding victory in 2013, was marked by turbulence. It commenced with a prolonged opposition-led blockade of Islamabad and culminated in his disqualification by the Supreme Court in 2017 due to his failure to cease receiving a salary from his son’s company, as reported by Geo News.
Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail upon conviction in the Avenfield reference along with a fine of 8 million Euros (Pakistani Rupees 1.3 billion) on July 6, 2018. Sharif was in London at that time. After approaching the Islamabad High Court, Sharif got major relief as the IHC ordered the release of Nawaz, Maryam and Captain Muhammad Safdar while temporarily suspending the sentences awarded to them.
However, in December 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) awarded Nawaz a seven-year jail term and a fine of PKR 1.5 billion in the Al-Azizia sugar mills reference. He was arrested from the courtroom after the accountability court judge announced the verdict in the graft case filed in light of the Supreme Court’s 2016 Panamagate verdict. With the verdict came Nawaz’s disqualification to hold any public office for a period of 10 years.
In October 2019, Nawaz Sharif was diagnosed with an immune system disorder while serving his sentence in the Al-Azizia case. Following this, medical professionals recommended that he seek treatment abroad.
The former Prime Minister managed to secure interim bail on medical grounds in the sugar mills reference. Subsequently, the Islamabad High Court granted Nawaz an eight-week bail in the Al-Azizia case due to his worsening health.
In November 2019, the Lahore High Court permitted Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for a four-week period and ordered the government led by Imran Khan to remove his name from the no-fly list without imposing any conditions. This decision came after the former PM provided the court with a court-approved undertaking assuring his return within the stipulated time, as reported by Geo News.
The court also granted Nawaz Sharif the option to extend his stay abroad based on medical reports, initially allowing him to leave the country for four weeks. Later, Nawaz Sharif was granted protective bail in two graft cases, while an accountability court suspended his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case, removing all the legal hurdles in his smooth return to the country. The PML-N party is preparing for a grand welcome for the former PM on October 21. Several party leaders and workers are converging in Lahore from all across Pakistan for the party’s grand power show. It has also booked multiple special trains to ensure that its supporters are able to attend the Minar-e-Pakistan rally, Geo News reported. (With ageny inputs)