Former PM Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan after 4 years of self-imposed exile in UK

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on Saturday after 4 years of self-imposed exile. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo is returning home after he was granted a protective bail in the graft cases against him and the accountability court also decided to suspend his arrest warrant.

"Today I am going to Pakistan after 4 years and I am feeling very happy with the grace of Allah. It would be great if the situation in Pakistan was better today than it was in 2017," Nawaz Sharif said before boarding a flight from Dubai as per news agency ANI.
   
PML-N has made elaborate arrangements to extend a hearty reception to the former Prime Minister. A multitude of party officials and members are assembling in Lahore from various regions of Pakistan to participate in the party's extravagant display of strength.

The return of Nawaz Sharif comes as Pakistan seems all set to head for the general elections in January 2024. His younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif was serving as the Prime Minister from 2022 till earlier this year after which the Parliament was dissolved and caretaker Prime Minister took command ahead of the general elections.

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Nawaz Sharif's shaky tenure
The PML-N supremo came to power in 2013 and initially, it seemed like he might become the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to complete a full term, but his tenure was marred by upheavals first due to the Opposition-led blockade in Islamabad and as his equations changed with the powerful Pakistan Army, Nawaz Sharif was ousted from his post under graft charges, paving the way for Imran Khan.

After years at trial and multiple convictions at hand, Nawaz Sharif managed to leave the country on medical grounds. The courts in Pakistan kept asking him to surrender, but the former Prime Minister escaped arrest until the Pakistan Army got fed up with Imran Khan and his brother came to power.