The minister said Nawaz did not go abroad after escaping from prison but with the permission of the court.
Karachi:
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not gone to London after a prison escape and will be treated according to the law upon his return next month, Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Sunday.
Sharif, 73, recently said he is excited to return to Pakistan on October 21, end a four-year “self-imposed exile” and lead his party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the elections that are likely to take place. held in January 2024.
Addressing a press conference here, Solangi said Nawaz had served as Prime Minister of Pakistan three times and was the Quaid (leader) of a major political party, Geo News reported.
The minister said Nawaz did not go abroad after escaping from prison but with the permission of the court and the former government.
Solangi said he could not answer whether Nawaz would secure protective bail or go to court, adding that the answer must be given by the PML-N supremo himself or by the law and constitution of the country.
He said that under the constitution, the country’s affairs would be governed by elected representatives.
Nawaz resigned as the country’s prime minister in 2017 after being banned for life from holding public office by the Supreme Court for failing to declare a receivable salary. He has been living in London since 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for his treatment for four weeks.
He served a seven-year sentence in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Prison in the Al-Azizia Mills case before being allowed to leave for London in 2019 for “medical reasons”.
In 2020, a liability court declared him a declared offender in the Toshakhana vehicles case. He is also accused of obtaining luxury cars from the treasury by paying only 15 percent of the price of these vehicles.
Nawaz was also convicted in 2018 in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases.
The minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan is responsible for conducting free, fair, transparent and impartial elections under Article 218(3) of the Constitution.
He said the transitional government would play its full role in holding free and fair elections. The delimitation of constituencies would be completed by November 30 and after that the end date of the elections would also be announced.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)