Nawaz Sharif’s return has been touted by PML-N for months (File)
Islamabad:
Three-time Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns home on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, ready to make a political comeback ahead of elections. The South Asian country is facing overlapping security, economic and political crises ahead of polls already postponed until January 2024, with Sharif’s main opponent, the wildly popular Imran Khan, languishing in jail.
“This is a time for hope and celebration. His return is a good omen for Pakistan’s economy and its people,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a senior leader of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Sharif has spent the past few days in Dubai and will fly from there to the capital Islamabad and then to Lahore, where his supporters will gather for a welcome meeting, his party said.
His return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope Sharif’s political clout and “man from the ground” swagger will revive declining popularity.
However, the former leader faces a corruption conviction and an unfinished prison sentence.
Earlier this week, the Islamabad High Court granted Sharif protective bail until Tuesday, removing the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country.
Sharif has been prime minister three times but was ousted in 2017 and given a lifetime disqualification from politics after being convicted of corruption.
He served less than a year of a seven-year prison sentence before being allowed to seek medical care in the United Kingdom, defying subsequent court orders to return during the government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes in the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from running in elections to five years.
Sharif’s return was likely eased by an agreement between the military establishment and his party to avoid significant legal hurdles, analyst Zahid Hussain said.
“There was some sort of arrangement with the military establishment; without that he would not have decided to come back,” he told AFP.
Sharif, often dressed in a red Gucci scarf, has seen his political fortunes rise and fall thanks to his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, the country’s true kingmakers.
Politicians in Pakistan are often embroiled in legal proceedings that human rights observers say are orchestrated by the powerful military, which has directly ruled the country for more than half its history and still wields enormous power.
Fans call him “the Lion of Punjab,” the eastern and most populous province where his support is strongest, and he has been known to parade big cats at extravagant political events to drum up support.
But he faces an uphill task in winning over an electorate tired of dynastic politics and a young population in the grip of Khan’s social media-focused party.
“Sharif’s main challenge is firstly to project himself and his party as viable options to replace Imran Khan, who is already popular, and secondly to revive the economy,” said political analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
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