ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Pakistan on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile in London, ARY News reported.
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has reached Lahore’s historic Minar-e-Pakistan monument, the venue for a grand rally of the PML-N to welcome the former premier, in a helicopter after landing in Lahore from Islamabad.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and former finance minister Ishaq Dar were accompanying the former premier on the trip.
Maryam Nawaz addresses Minar-e-Pakistan jalsa
Addressing the Minar-e-Pakistan jalsa, PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz thanked all the supporters and workers for welcoming the party supremo at the Greater Iqbal Park.
Maryam Nawaz said that people from across Pakistan had gathered at Minar-e-Pakistan today. “Despite people saying that his [Nawaz] politics has come to an end, he is back with all the due respect,” Maryam said.
“I thought Minar-e-Pakistan was a huge venue, but I didn’t know it would turn out to be small for PML-N supporters,” she added.
Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz was seen in tears ahead of Nawaz’s arrival at Minar-e-Pakistan.
PML-N supremo reaches Islamabad
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif reached Islamabad from Dubai via a chartered flight.
After landing at Islamabad airport, Sharif proceeded to the airport’s VIP lounge alongside party leader Ishaq Dar, to sign legal documents and complete biometric formalities.
The PML-N supremo stayed at Islamabad International Airport for over one hour where he signed documents and held consultation with his lawyers.
The flight carrying Nawaz Sharif from Islamabad to Lahore faced a delay due to the issuance of new boarding passes to former finance czar Ishaq Dar and ex-law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
Nawaz Sharif will reach Lahore airport around 4:30 pm from where he will proceed to Minar-e-Pakistan to address the homecoming rally.
Reacting to Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said that elder Sharif is back to unite the “nation, not to divide it further”.
“My leader Nawaz Sharif will be among you today, InshaAllah. He is coming back to unite this nation, not to divide it further. He is coming back to spread love among his people, not hatred. He is coming back to help you become a productive citizen, not ammunition for any party or group. He is coming back to put Pakistan back on track.”
My leader Nawaz Sharif will be among you today, InshaAllah. He is coming back to unite this nation, not to divide it further. He is coming back to spread love among his people, not hatred. He is coming back to help you become a productive citizen, not ammunition for any party or… pic.twitter.com/AaaKoupYxw
میری زندگی کا شاید آج سب سے بڑا دن ہے۔ میں اللّہ ربّ العزت کی شکر گزار ہوں۔ جتنے دکھ اور تکالیف نواز شریف نے پچھلے 24 سالوں میں سہے، شاید ہی اس کی کوئی مثال ہو، اور انکے کچھ زخم ایسے ہیں جو کبھی نہیں بھر پائیں گے مگر جتنے عروج بھی نواز شریف نے دیکھے وہ بھی شائد کسی اور کے حصے میں…
Talking to the media at Dubai airport, the PML-N leader said that his party is competent enough to take Pakistan out of the crisis that it is presently in.
“We are competent enough to solve the problems of the country,” said Nawaz in the media talk before his departure at Dubai airport.
آج 4 سال بعد پاکستان جارہا ہوں اور اللہ کے فضل سے بہت خوشی محسوس کررہا ہوں۔ بہت ہی اچھا ہوتا اگر پاکستان کے حالات 2017 کے مقابلے میں آج بہتر ہوتے #خوش_آمدید_نوازشریفpic.twitter.com/UzikY345G8
“The situation in Pakistan is very chaotic,” said Nawaz.
To a question about the general elections, the PML-N supremo said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is in a “better” position to decide on polls.
Nawaz Sharif’s schedule
Nawaz’s flight departed from Dubai Airport at 8:45am in a chartered plane and will land in Islamabad at 12:30 pm.
He will stay at the airport for an hour during which he will hold legal consultations. He will then leave for Lahore where he will be accorded a warm welcome by the party workers.
Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to address a public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan in the evening.
Arrangements finalised
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has made arrangements for flower showers using Cessna planes to welcome former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the provincial capital of Lahore.
PML-N has claimed that it has set up 40,000 seats at the Greater Iqbal Park the venue for today’s public gathering.
PML-N convoys from Sindh, KP, Gilgit Baltistan and Punjab have left for Lahore to attend today’s rally.
A timeline of events leading to Sharif’s latest years of exile and his return:
Sharif, 73, first become prime minister in 1990. He was ousted in a 1999 coup, ending a second stint as prime minister, and went into self-imposed exile until 2007.
April 2016: Millions of documents from a Panamanian law firm are leaked to the media. Some of the so-called Panama Papers show the involvement of Sharif’s family in offshore companies that hold properties in London. Sharif, who became prime minister for a third time after winning a 2013 election, denies wrongdoing but a case against him is filed in Pakistan by his main rival, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.
July 28, 2017: The Supreme Court disqualifies Sharif from the prime minister’s office, declaring him dishonest for not disclosing income from a company owned by his son. Sharif resigns from office the same day. He soon leaves for London to tend to his wife who was receiving medical treatment there.
April 13, 2018: The Supreme Court imposes a lifetime ban on Sharif from taking part in politics or holding any public office in a first-of-its-kind decision.
July 5, 2018: An anti-graft court sentences Sharif in absentia to 10 years in prison. He and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, seen by supporters as his political heir, are convicted after failing to prove the source of income used to buy properties in London in the 1990s.
July 12, 2018:Nawaz Sharif and his daughter fly back to the city of Lahore, their hometown and political stronghold, and are arrested at the airport and sent to jail.
July 25, 2018: Sharif’s main rival, Imran Khan, wins a general election.
Dec. 24, 2018: Sharif is convicted in another graft case and sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $25 million. He said the charges, linked to the ownership of a steel mill in Saudi Arabia, were politically motivated.
Nov. 19, 2019: Sharif flies to London after a court allows him to leave for medical treatment, on condition he returns when fit. He does not return.
April 10, 2022: Khan is ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence after differences with the military over security appointments. Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, becomes prime minister.
May 9, 2023: The anti-corruption agency arrests Khan sparking violent protests by his supporters.
Aug. 9, 2023: Shehbaz Sharif’s government completes its tenure and hands over power to a caretaker administration that will oversee a general election.
Sept. 21, 2023: The election commission announces it will be ready to hold a general election by the end of January 2024.
Oct. 19, 2023: A court bars authorities from arresting Sharif upon his return and his lawyer says he intends to appeal against his convictions.
