Ahead of his much anticipated return on October 21, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has left Saudi Arabia.
The former prime minister has reached Heathrow Airport from his residence in London’s Avenfield Apartment.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Dr Muhammad Faisal welcomed him at Heathrow Airport.
A large number of PML-N workers reached outside Avenfield to bid farewell to Nawaz Sharif.
The PML-N supremo will take a flight from London to Saudi Arabia. Sharif is expected to stay in Saudi Arabia for five days before flying to Dubai. He is scheduled to return to Pakistan on a special plane from Dubai on October 21.
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Sharif's return to Pakistan has been the subject of much speculation and controversy in recent months. The former premier was convicted of corruption and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018. However, he was allowed to travel to London for medical treatment in November 2019.
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Nawaz Sharif, 69, was suffering from multiple health complications, including erratic platelet count.
On Sunday, the PML-N supremo while talking to a delegation of the PML-N’s overseas leaders in London, said that his first and last priority is the revival of Pakistan’s economy.
He was of the idea that everyone would have to play their role for ensuring the stability of Pakistan in the economic field. He added that the public would conduct accountability through their power of vote.
The three-time former premier said the journey to development would resume from where it had been ended. He vowed to pull Pakistan out of the crises of economic misery, inflation and unemployment.
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Nawaz also asked the overseas Pakistanis to play their role in running the industries through investment. He also stressed that those hindering the development and prosperity of the country would never be forgiven.
On Thursday, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif had said that his elder brother Nawaz would unveil the "agenda"for taking the country out of the economic hardships.
Shehbaz had held a meeting with representatives of the traders association in Lahore. He said, ‘’Political stability and right economic policies can pave the way for the economic revival and the country’s prosperity.’’
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The former prime minister went on to say that the PML-N had always prioritised the country over politics. It was important not to repeat the mistakes that created the barriers to reviving the economy and controlling inflation, he remarked.
In response to the traders’ reservations, Shehbaz said, ‘’We assure economic prosperity and getting rid of inflation if the nation shows their confidence in the PML-N in the general elections.’’
He further said that Nawaz Sharif was not returning to seek revenge, but to restart the country’s journey of development from where it was stopped.
Conviction
In 2017, he was disqualified for life from holding public office by the Supreme Court for not declaring a receivable salary. He has been living in London since 2019 after being granted permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Sharif was serving a seven-year prison sentence at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Mills case before he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on "medical grounds". In 2020, an accountability court declared him a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicles case. He is also accused of obtaining luxury cars from the treasury house by paying just 15 per cent of the price of these vehicles.
Sharif was convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018. He has denied all charges against him, and his supporters claim that he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
Sharif's legal troubles have had a significant impact on his political career and on the country of Pakistan. He is a popular and divisive figure, and his return to Pakistan is likely to have a major impact on the upcoming general election.
