Nawaz Sharif has been disqualified from holding public office but the Pakistan deep state is clearing the path for him to return and contest for public office. (Image: Reuters)
Shehbaz Sharif told PML-N members that Nawaz Sharif must return to become Pakistan and take over as Prime Minister and PML-N chief.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged his elder brother and predecessor former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to come back and lead the election campaign for his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), on Monday.
According to Pakistan-based Geo News, Shehbaz publicly urged his elder brother to return and also become the prime minister for the fourth time while addressing the central general council meeting of the party.
He told those gathered that he was waiting for his elder brother to return to Pakistan and resume his responsibilities as PML-(N) president.
Nawaz Sharif is in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019 due to health reasons. He was disqualified by the Pakistan Supreme Court and barred from holding any public office in 2017 and was again barred from holding public office for life 2018 after a probe ordered by the Supreme Court on Panama Papers found him guilty of not disclosing money from his son Hussain Nawaz’s Dubai-based firm.
Nawaz Sharif then relinquished his role as party chief and handed the reins to his brother Shehbaz. “You will see that the map of politics will change when Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan,” Shehbaz Sharif said while praising niece and Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz for leading the PML-(N) during the supremo’s absence, according to Geo News.
The comments from Shehbaz came weeks after Pakistan President Arif Alvi signed the Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Act 2023 which could pave the way for Nawaz Sharif to exercise the right of appeal against their lifetime disqualifications within 60 days.
This allows an individual to appeal against the court decisions in cases under Article 184(3) which stipulates that for the Court to have original jurisdiction on an issue, it first needs to be of public importance and also the issue must involve a violation of fundamental rights that are enshrined within the first chapter of the second part of the Pakistani Constitution, according to Lahore University of Management Sciences.
The new law allows for filing an appeal against the court decisions in cases under Article 184(3) and also applies to past verdicts as well, Pakistan-based news outlets revealed.
The announcement is likely to anger Imran Khan, former prime minister, who accuses Nawaz Sharif of being a puppeteer and running the government from London.
