Nawaz to return to Pakistan on October 21: Shehbaz

After a four-year exile, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif is set to return to Pakistan on October 21.

The eagerly anticipated announcement of the former premier’s return was made by his brother and PML (N) president Mian Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday.

Talking to the media in London alongside Nawaz, Shehbaz said on the announced date: “This decision was taken after consultation with the party and according to this, Nawaz Sharif (will return to the country) on October 21.”

Nawaz Sharif was serving a seven-year sentence in a corruption case when he was granted rare permission to receive medical treatment abroad in view of a medical condition in October 2019, during the rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

His departure from the country followed the relief provided to him by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Al-Azizia reference case on medical grounds.

The Imran-led government had declared Nawaz fugitive in February 2020 and the accountability court proclaimed him an offender in the Toshakhana reference later in that year.

It is worth mentioning that the preceding National Assembly and the Senate enacted the Elections (Amendment) Act 2023, which not only gave the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to unilaterally announce the elections date but was also seen by many to pave the way for Nawaz’s. He flew to London on November 19, 2019, in an air ambulance and has not returned to the country since. – Web Desk / News Agencies