The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will discuss its election campaign and the homecoming of party supremo Nawaz Sharif during the upcoming visit of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Shehbaz lands London for consultations with Nawaz: After his 16-month term in the administration came to an end this month, the younger Sharif is making his first trip to the UK. Salman Shehbaz, the former premier’s son, is travelling with him.
Shehbaz would meet with PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif on his trip to London, according Pakistani party sources. Other significant party leaders will attend and meet with him there as well.
To participate in the aforementioned talks between the party’s leadership, during which Nawaz’s homecoming would be considered, some former federal ministers are already in the capital city of the UK.
According to PML-N insiders, the party’s legal team is also anticipated to take part in the discussions over the party supremo’s legal obstacles.
Shehbaz Sharif announced on August 9 that Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan in September and that he would travel to London to have extensive discussions with his older brother about this.
Nawaz Sharif, who has been in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019 due to health reasons, said in an interview with Capital Talk show host Hamid Mir, “Nawaz Sharif will come back to Pakistan next month and will face the law and lead the election campaign,” without specifying the precise date of Nawaz’s homecoming.
Shehbaz declared, “He [Nawaz] won’t wear a hat or a bucket.”
Key Developments: Nawaz Sharif’s Legal Challenges and Supreme Court’s Ruling
In November 2019, Nawaz left for London to seek medical attention after an accountability court found him guilty in graft cases, and he has been residing there since.
Nawaz resigned as prime minister in 2016 after the Supreme Court permanently barred him for hiding assets.
Later, following the Panama Papers release, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed references in the Al-Azizia and the Aveinfield Apartment cases, leading to the conviction of the PML-N leader.
The appropriate courts are still considering his challenges against the conviction.
Earlier, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif highlighted his deep concerns on the actions of the supreme court, particularly during the past few months, in an interview with Geo News’ “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath,” saying: “One should not take the risk of Nawaz Sharif’s return” under this circumstance.
Earlier this month, a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and including Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar declared the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act 2023 “unconstitutional.”
In essence, the Supreme Court’s decision dashed the aspirations of former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen who sought to contest their lifetime disqualifications.
Nawaz and Tareen were both disqualified by the SC in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution. Given their political aspirations in light of the approaching general elections in the nation after the National Assembly’s term has ended, both leaders would have had the option to contest their disqualifications had the decision been in favour of the petitions.