In a major development as the nation heads towards general elections, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif will return to the country next month and face the law. .
While giving an interview, the outgoing prime minister said that he will go to London to meet his elder brother Nawaz as soon as he takes charge of the caretaker government.
“Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan next month and face the law and lead the election campaign,” the incumbent prime minister said without giving an exact return date for Nawaz, who has been in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019. health reasons.
Nawaz Sharif went to London for treatment in November 2019 after being convicted in corruption cases by the accountability court and has been living there ever since.
In 2016, Nawaz Sharif resigned as prime minister after being disqualified for life by the Supreme Court for concealing assets.
Later, the PML-N supremo was convicted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Dair-ul-Azizia and Avenfield Apartment references that came to light after the Panama Papers leak.
Their appeals against the sentence are currently pending in the respective courts.
“He [Nawaz] will neither wear a cap nor a bucket,” Prime Minister Shehbaz said in an interview today, taking a dig at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, who wears a bulletproof helmet during court hearings. said with thinly veiled sarcasm. .
Shahbaz, who is also the PML-N president, hoped that his party would win the next general elections and that he would serve as a party worker in the Nawaz-led government.
His statement came at a time when the process of appointing the caretaker setup officially began on August 9 with the premature dissolution of the National Assembly.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a multi-party alliance, decided to dissolve the assembly three days before its constitutional completion to allow the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections in the country within 90 days instead of 60 days. Allow to do. Fixed Term If the Legislature completes its term.
However, the general elections in the country are likely to be delayed as the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has approved the 2023 census, which will require the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to draw new delimitations. Needed – This exercise is likely to take three to four hours. month.
Caretaker Prime Minister
Speaking about his meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz to discuss the name of the caretaker prime minister, the prime minister said: “Hopefully the name of the caretaker prime minister will be agreed before three days. Will.”
Under the constitution, the prime minister and the opposition leader have three days to finalize the name of caretaker prime minister. In the first round of consultations earlier today, they failed to reach a consensus on the name of the caretaker prime minister.
“It has been decided that another round of consultation will take place tomorrow (Friday). No name will be revealed until a name is finalised,” the NA opposition leader said after the meeting.
His statement indicated that both sides were holding their cards close to their chests. However, Riaz confirmed that he had shared the names of his candidates with the prime minister, hoping that things would be clarified tomorrow.
The Prime Minister added that I will meet the [NA Opposition Leader] again tomorrow to consult on behalf of the Caretaker Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the caretaker Prime Minister will also consult with his brother Nawaz Sharif regarding the appointment.
Amid fears of election delay, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that general elections should be held as soon as possible, adding that the responsibility of conducting elections in the country lies with the ECP, not the caretaker set-up.
