Nawaz Sharif to deliver first public speech today after graft indictment

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is to address a public gathering today (Sunday) in Abbottabad for first time after his indictment in the graft references, ARY News reported.

Earlier today, Sharif reached Islamabad from Lahore in an extensive protocol from where he departed for Murree via a private flight.

He held a meeting with the party ally Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who heads Balochistan-based Paktunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), within the airport premises before leaving for Murree.

The duo discussed the ongoing political situation in the country, sources familiar with PML-N president’s plan said.

All arrangements have been finalised for the public meeting at Abbottabad’s college ground. As many as 10,000 chairs have been placed for the rally expected to begin around 2pm.

A large number of party workers and supporters have already begun amassing at the venue including PML-N senators Asif Kirmani and Pervaiz Rasheed.

It is apropos to highlight here that Sharif had launched a public mobilization drive, dubbed as Homecoming Rally, arriving in Lahore via GT Road from Islamabad in August after his ouster as Prime Minister in the Panama Papers case.

However, it will be his first interaction with the masses after his indictment in three graft references filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in compliance with Supreme Court’s landmark July 28 verdict.

The former premier is expected to revive his mass mobilization campaign with the rally today, besides snapping back at judiciary.