After four years of virtual meetings held from London, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif is set to lead an in-person high-level gathering to strategize the party’s election campaign.
Senior party officials have begun to arrive at the Jati Umra residence of the three-time prime minister to participate in the high-level gathering.
Nawaz, who returned to Pakistan on October 21, will be presiding over a party meeting in Pakistan for the first time in four years. During his self-imposed exile, the PML-N leader would either address meetings virtually or the PML-N leadership would convene in London.
Sources indicate that the party’s agenda will include discussions on the current political landscape, general elections, and other pertinent issues. Furthermore, the party will deliberate on plans for resuming Nawaz’s political activities in Pakistan, and the meeting will also address the schedule for the PML-N supremo’s nationwide tours.
The meeting will also delve into plans for launching the party’s election campaign and the development of an election manifesto.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz returned to Pakistan on October 21 after a self-imposed exile of four years and has since obtained significant legal relief in various cases, including the Avenfield, Al-Azizia, and Toshakhana cases.
Furthermore, the Punjab government approved the suspension of Nawaz’s sentence in the Al-Azizia reference.
In the Avenfield properties corruption reference, the ousted Prime Minister received a 10-year jail sentence for possessing assets beyond his known income in July 2018 and an additional year for non-cooperation with the anti-graft watchdog; both sentences were to be served concurrently.
In the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference, Nawaz was sentenced to seven years in jail on December 24, 2018, and subsequently transferred to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail before being moved to Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail the following day.
The senior Sharif was released from jail in March 2019 and traveled to London for medical treatment in November 2019 following approval from the Lahore High Court. Later, in December 2020, the Islamabad High Court declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases.
