Nawaz to head home after Minar-i-Pakistan rally in Lahore on Oct 21: Marriyum

Former information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday said PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif will head to his Jati Umra residence after addressing a rally at Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore on October 21 — the day he is set to return to Pakistan after four years in England.

The former prime minister had left for London in 2019 on medical grounds while serving his seven-year jail term. In the four years that transpired, Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases for his continuous absence from proceedings.

On September 12 of this year, Shehbaz Sharif had confirmed that Nawaz would return to the country on Oct 21, while his party said on Sept 30 that Nawaz was ready to face “all kinds of circumstances” upon his return.

Meanwhile, on Oct 3, PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said that Nawaz would return to the country with protective bail and “surrender to the court after his (welcome) reception” in Lahore.

Marriyum gave more details of Nawaz’s plans upon touching down in Lahore, telling Dawn.com today that “he will land at the Lahore airport and from there he will address a public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan, after which he will return to his Jati Umra residence.”

She maintained that Nawaz would not be arrested at the airport.

Marriyum said that Nawaz would set straight the country’s economic agenda and vision in his Minar-i-Pakistan speech. “Nawaz Sharif is the only way to stabilise and develop the country and only he can help lift the country’s economy on its own feet.”

Talking about the 16-month tenure of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, she claimed he did not make any wrong decisions during his time in power.

“He is the only leader who saved the country from default,” Marriyum added. “If he had not done any economic planning, the country would have turned into a Sri Lanka.”