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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile on Saturday, arriving in his hometown of Lahore to cheering crowds as rumors of a political comeback spread.
The trip came as Pakistan prepared for a general election and Sharif’s main rival, former prime minister Imran Khan, remains in prison on charges of leaking state secrets. According to the World Bank, the country’s economy has “slowed sharply” over the past year and an increase in militant attacks has contributed to political instability.
“I want to serve this nation,” Sharif, 73, said in an address to his supporters, Portal news agency reported. “My only wish is for this nation to prosper.”
Sharif was convicted of corruption charges in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison – but authorities allowed him to travel to London in 2019 to receive medical treatment. He was later declared a refugee, but a court in Pakistan recently granted him temporary protection from arrest, paving the way for his return.
“The state is waiting [Sharif] with open arms,” Pakistani newspaper Dawn wrote in an editorial on Saturday.
But a possible candidacy is complicated by the fact that Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, has just taken over as prime minister – his government was dissolved in August – and is widely blamed for Pakistan’s economic crisis.
Nevertheless, Sharif’s supporters believe that despite his corruption conviction he will not be barred from running in the election scheduled for early next year. Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were both found guilty in the same case for linking the family to illegal financing of real estate abroad.
“Since he was wrongly convicted, we expect the verdict to be overturned,” Sharif’s lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar said in an interview.
Sharif’s choreographed return to Pakistan stood in stark contrast to Khan’s mounting legal and political problems and unsettled the imprisoned politician’s supporters.
Khan was ousted as prime minister by a no-confidence vote in parliament last year and fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military generals, who determine the country’s politics. Many of Khan’s political advisers and party members resigned earlier this year, citing pressure from the army.
Imran Khan is becoming increasingly isolated as the Pakistani army puts pressure on allies
Khan’s party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – competes with Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for the same voter base. The election could be decided in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, where Lahore is located. It is a long-standing stronghold of Sharif’s party – but one where Khan has made major strides.
Sharif may now see an opportunity to win back voters there, although he has also run afoul of the military over the course of his decades-long political career.
Analysts warned that Khan remained popular – and that Pakistan’s economic problems were bigger than any one politician.
“Sharif’s party is celebrating the return of its leader as if he had returned with a magic formula to end all of this country’s serious economic problems,” said Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani political scientist. “However, this is not the case.”