Nawaz Sharif, the only Pakistani politician who became the prime minister of the coup-prone country for a record three times, returned to the country ahead of the elections.

Islamabad/Lahore:  “The King has returned! Nawaz Sharif is back, and he’s here to restore Pakistan’s glory.” This post by the official X handle of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) just about summed up the mood for the party as it welcomed back its supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday as he returned to the country ending four years of self-imposed exile.

Much is at stake for PML-N, one of the three major political parties in Pakistan the other two being Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of the Bhuttos with Sharif’s return to Pakistan and the Lahore rally ahead of the elections expected to be held in the last week of January 2024.

Amid speculation by rivals that 73-year-old beleaguered Sharif might skip returning to the country, he landed in Islamabad from Dubai in the afternoon, completed legal formalities at the airport and headed to Lahore, PML-N’s bastion, for a show of strength rally at Minar-e-Pakistan.

Known as the ‘Lion of Punjab’, Sharif became the Prime Minister for a record three times, but each time he was forced to quit in the middle of his term.

Since Saturday morning, the PML-N’s X handle posted details of Sharif’s journey right from embarking on the special flight from Dubai, landing at Islamabad, heading to sign the legal documents, then boarding a chartered helicopter for Lahore. It also gave details from where he landed in Lahore to the rally ground, the Iqbal Park, which houses the Minar-e-Pakistan.

In one of the news channel debates on GeoTV, answering the question of whether the rally was the largest that Pakistan had seen, an analyst said, “There can be a debate about the gathering size. But what cannot be debated is the fact that Mia Nawaz has returned despite speculations that he may not.”

Sharif, the only Pakistani politician who became the prime minister of the coup-prone country for a record three times, returned to the country ahead of the elections after securing what his opponents and political analysts described as “blessings of the powerful military establishment”.

Pakistan’s powerful Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 73-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.

The PML-N supremo had jumped bail and left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia corruption case on “medical grounds” in November 2019 after a high court granted him bail for four weeks.

Sharif was convicted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, which is pending before an accountability court in Islamabad.

The three-term prime minister could return without fearing arrest on Saturday only after his legal team approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which on Thursday granted him a protective bail until October 24 in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia corruption cases. Also, an anti-corruption court in Pakistan suspended his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana vehicles case.

(Only the headline has been reworked by India.com staff. Copy comes from a syndicated feed)