Ousted PM Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan amid accountability calls

ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan from London on Monday morning to face graft cases against him in an accountability court, ARY News reported.  

After spending about a month in the United Kingdom with his ailing wife Kulsoom Nawaz, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, he landed at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad where he was received by a large number of party leaders, including Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

He reached Islamabad through PIA flight PK-786 at around 7:45am.

Other members of his family, including daughter Maryam Nawaz and sons – Hussain and Hassan Nawaz – who have also been summoned by the accountability court, are still in London.

The ex-PM had taken the decision to fly back to the country after consulting his close aides, including Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.

READ MORE: BEFORE RETURNING, NAWAZ WONDERS WHAT NAB REFERENCE IS ALL ABOUT

Sources said the PML-N has decided to  elect him as party president after his return to the country. He is also expected to appear before the accountability court to face graft references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

READ MORE: NAWAZ TO SOON RETURN TO PAKISTAN AND HEAD PML-N: AYAZ SADIQ

The accountability court had last week directed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family to appear before it on Sept 26 in graft references against them.

Judge Muhammad Bashir had reissued summons against members of the Sharif family after they failed to turn up on September 19 in response to the court’s earlier notice for appearance.