Shehbaz: Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan next month

ISLAMABAD: Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan next month.

During his interview with Hamid Mir, Shehbaz said that he intended to visit London to finalise arrangements with his elder brother once the caretaker government would take charge.

The anticipated return of Nawaz Sharif came after his departure from the country in November 2019 for medical treatment subsequent to a corruption conviction. He has not returned ever since and is confronting multiple legal cases in Pakistan.

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During the interview, when Shehbaz was asked about potential challenges posed by the caretaker government upon Nawaz’s return, Shehbaz said, “He will face the law.”

Shehbaz also said that Nawaz would lead the PML-N’s electoral campaign and could potentially become prime minister for the fourth time if the party secures victory in the elections. The elections might be postponed due to the pending notification of the most recent census results.

Nawaz’s expected comeback would coincide with the retirement of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, a figure PML-N leaders have identified as an obstacle to Nawaz’s reentry.

Meanwhile, an influential move aimed at facilitating Nawaz’s return occurred in June when both the National Assembly and Senate passed the Elections (Amendment) Act 2023. The legislation empowered the Election Commission of Pakistan to unilaterally determine election dates and also restricted lawmakers’ disqualification period to a maximum of five years with retrospective effect.

The bill, known as the ‘person-specific legislation’ by the opposition, the bill was expected to benefit Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Khan Tareen, the patron of the newly-formed Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).

Read More: Election amendment bill sails through parliament with more powers to interim set-up

The two individuals were previously disqualified for life over five years ago under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, a decision that the June 2023 Act seeks to revise.

Earlier in June, Nawaz Sharif was acquitted in connection to a 1986 plot allotment case involving a media house owner. The instance was among several others where members of the Sharif family have been exonerated since the PML-N-led coalition assumed power in April 2022, following the removal of PTI chief as prime minister through a no-confidence vote.