ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday his elder brother and former premier Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan next month.
On his return, Nawaz is likely to face the pending court cases and spearhead his party’s campaign for for the next general elections.
After his conviction in Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018, Nawaz has been living in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019. He was serving a seven-year imprisonment 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 an interview with a private news channel, Shehbaz said he would travel to London to meet his elder brother Nawaz as soon as the caretaker government takes charge in the country. He reiterated that his elder brother would be Pakistan’s prime minister for the fourth time if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wins the next election, which will be held later this year.
His statement came as the process to appoint the caretaker setup formally kicked off with the dissolution of the National Assembly on Wednesday, three days ahead of the mandated period.
“Nawaz Sharif will come back to Pakistan next month and will face the law and lead the election campaign,” the incumbent prime minister said without giving the exact date for Nawaz’s return.
In 2017, Nawaz Sharif stepped down as the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets. His appeals against the conviction are currently pending in courts.
“He (Nawaz Sharif) will neither wear a hat nor a bucket,” Shehbaz said while taking a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan who dons a bulletproof helmet while appearing for court hearings.
