Saturday, October 21, 2023
Nawaz returns after 4 years of self-imposed exile in London.
The PML-N supremo is throwing his weight behind the ECP through the elections.
"The situation in Pakistan is very disturbing and very worrying."
DUBAI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said he is returning to Pakistan after "vindication", adding that his party is "competent enough" to lead the country in crisis.
"I am returning to Pakistan after being vindicated by the grace of Almighty Allah," he said on Saturday while talking to reporters at the Dubai airport before departing for Pakistan.
The three-time former prime minister is returning to Pakistan after ending a 4-year self-imposed exile in London and is hoping to make a political comeback in the upcoming general elections due in the last week of January next year.
The former prime minister said his party is in a position to solve the woes of the masses if elected to power.
Responding to a question regarding the general elections, Nawaz threw his weight behind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
"Only the election commission can make a better decision about the elections. The Election Commission feels it is right that I prefer the election,” Nawaz said when asked about the January polls.
He also said that a "fair" election commission was functioning in the country.
The PML-N supremo believes that his party is competent enough to take Pakistan out of the crisis it is currently in.
"We are competent enough to solve the country's problems," he said.
Citing the achievements of his previous sting powers, the PML-N supremo lamented that the country was in a much "worse situation" than being in a good position.
"The situation in Pakistan is very worrying and this is very worrying," Nawaz said.
"The Lion of the Punjab"
Nawaz has spent the past few days in Riyadh and Dubai and is expected to arrive in Islamabad this afternoon from where he will leave for Lahore where his supporters will gather for a welcome home rally.
His return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope that Nawaz's political clout and "man of the soil" bravado will revive his declining popularity.
However, the former leader has a conviction for graft and an unfinished prison sentence hanging over him.
Earlier this week, the PML-N chief was assured of a smooth return to the country after securing relief from the Islamabad High Court and the Accountability Court, averting the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country.
Nawaz was prime minister three times, but was ousted in 2017 and given a lifetime disqualification from politics after being convicted of failing to pay an arrears.
He served less than a year of a seven-year sentence before being granted permission to seek medical treatment in the UK, ignoring subsequent court orders to return under former prime minister Imran Khan's government.
His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes to the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from standing for election to five years.
His fans call him the "Lion of Punjab", the eastern and most populous province where his support is strongest, and he is known for showing off big cats at extravagant political events to drum up support.
