Pakistan's ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's scheduled arrival next month in question after corruption cases against him reopen

Pakistan's former premier Nawaz Sharif's return from London next month, ending his almost four-year exile, is possibly in question as the corruption cases against him have been restored after the Supreme Court scrapped the recent amendments made to the country's anti-graft laws, a senior leader of PML-N said on Thursday.

Recently, Pakistan's Supreme Court scrapped the new amendments to the country's anti-graft laws, restoring corruption cases against ex-premiers Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi including former president Asif Ali Zardari.

In light of the Supreme Court's striking down the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendments, Nawaz Sharif's party PML-N thinks that these may cause some legal implications for him ahead of his planned return.

Sharif, 73, who is expected to return to Pakistan on October 21 will face all cases in respect of the courts.

A senior PML-N leader told PTI on Thursday that the party supremo Nawaz Sharif, wants a 'protective bail' in NAB's Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case.

''Nawaz Sharif also does not want to surrender in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which he was convicted for seven years and was serving the term at Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore before his departure to London,'' he said.

The leader further said that Sharif wants 'certain guarantees' in this regard before he gets his ticket booked for Lahore.

There is speculation that the new Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa is not willing to give any guarantee in the Nawaz cases, crushing the hopes of his daughter and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz that the judiciary will uphold justice.

Sharif has been living in London since 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him four-week permission allowing him to go abroad for his treatment, which may see the restoration of a Toshakhana case against him.

In 2020, an accountability court declared him a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicles case.

He is also accused of obtaining luxury cars from the treasury house by paying just 15 per cent of the price of these vehicles.

Sharif was also convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018.

He was serving a seven-year imprisonment at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Mills case before he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on ''medical grounds''.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also submitted a record of graft cases to accountability courts, asking them to reopen corruption cases involving amounts less than Rs 500 million, the Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the PML-N, on arrival to Lahore on October 21, a rally will be held at Minar-e-Pakistan to give Nawaz a rousing welcome.

Maryam Nawaz has asked the party men to gather one million people at Minar-e-Pakistan for the historic welcome of Nawaz.

Jailed premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has alleged that Nawaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan under a deal with the military establishment.

The PML-N has nominated Nawaz Sharif as the party candidate for the slot of prime minister for the fourth time in the upcoming general elections scheduled to take place in the last week of January 2024.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)