by Zulqernain Tahir | Wajih Ahmad Sheikh in Dawn, October 7th, 2023
• Medical report submitted to LHC says ex-PM has ‘residual anginal symptoms’ that require frequent follow-up visits
• PML-N supremo spends ‘final day’ at London office, likely to fly to Saudi Arabia next week
• Shehbaz says ‘vote ko izzat do’ not an anti-establishment slogan
LAHORE: After Nawaz Sharif’s legal team submitted his medical reports to the Lahore High Court on Friday, his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the PML-N supreme leader would return to Pakistan as planned on October 21, as doctors and lawyers had given him the thumbs up.
On the other hand, the elder Sharif marked his final day at Stanhope House, the party’s de facto London headquarters.
In a press conference held in Lahore, Shehbaz Sharif cleared the uncertainty surrounding the return of his elder brother and said he would address a rally at Minar-i-Pakistan after his arrival and “give an economic roadmap to steer the country out of crises”.
The younger Sharif talked about Nawaz’s achievements and difficulties during his three tenures as the premier, besides the ‘difficult decision’ of removing ex-PM Imran Khan through a vote of no confidence in April 2022 to ‘save the state’.
However, he parried questions on the party’s narrative change on the accountability of former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-ISI chief Gen Faiz Hamid.
Talking about the challenges the PDM coalition faced, he admitted that his government could not succeed on every front.
In a marathon question-answer session, Shehbaz Sharif did not deny the popularity of Imran Khan. Speaking about a recent survey that declared Imran Khan the most popular leader, the PML-N president said, “I don’t deny or confirm this, but let’s see what happens in the polls.”
At the same time, he drew a comparison between the PML-N and PTI, saying as per the surveys in 2018, the PML-N was poised to win polls, but the PTI was brought to power through “massive rigging”. To a question on whether the PTI would not be on the ballot paper, he said, “We want free and fair elections and whosoever wins, the result should be acceptable to all.”
Asked about TV anchor Imran Riaz Khan, who went ‘missing’ during his time in power, Shehbaz Sharif said he had no idea about it.
To a question about changing the party’s narrative of accountability for Mr Bajwa and Mr Hamid for toppling the Nawaz government in 2017, he said he had already made it clear that there should be across-the-board accountability. He, however, didn’t deny that he had rushed back to London to persuade his elder brother to shun his demand. On the question of polls, he said he expected elections would be held on time.
Rebranding the slogan
On Friday, Shehbaz Sharif also appeared to redefine the party’s slogan of ‘vote ko izzat do’.
“Giving respect to the ballot doesn’t mean it is an anti-establishment slogan. It means serving the voters,” he said, asking whether raising anti-establishment slogans would help overcome the people’s problems.
He also clarified a comment which was “wrongly attributed” to him. “I had never said that I am a darling of the (military) establishment. Actually, a journalist during a media interaction the other day had said that I had been a darling of the establishment for decades.” ……
Sources said the medical report had been filed to seek relief in the shape of protective or transit bail on his arrival in Lahore.
Meanwhile, in London, Mr Sharif met London-based journalists on his final day at the office and expressed his gratitude to them for their coverage over the course of his nearly four-year stay in London.
“Today is my last day in office, then I will leave,” Mr Sharif said. Stanhope House has served as the party’s office since the PML-N supremo began to actively take part in politics after his arrival in 2019. It was at this venue that he held key meetings with PML-N representatives, as well as diplomats and other visitors.
Mr Sharif also commented on the protests staged by pro-Imran Khan supporters in London over the past few years. “Marriyum Aurangzeb and other women were surrounded in London,” he recalled, referring to an incident when she was aggressively heckled by PTI supporters in a coffee shop.
“What has been achieved by the protests of Pakistanis here in the last four years? If they want to protest, they should go to Pakistan and do so,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to leave London in the coming week for Saudi Arabia. A source confirmed to Dawn that Mr Sharif will perform Umrah and then proceed to Pakistan.
They denied rumours that he will visit other countries ahead of his return to Pakistan. Some reports suggested Mr Sharif would embark on a four-country tour, and that he would visit China, Qatar and the UAE in addition to Saudi Arabia. However, multiple sources within the party said there is no truth to such reports.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1779768/nawaz-wraps-up-uk-affairs-as-shehbaz-confirms-homecoming
