ISLAMABAD: Pakistani politician Nawaz Sharif, whose three terms as prime minister were plagued by corruption scandals and confrontations with the country’s powerful army, returned to Pakistan today, Saturday, after four years of self-imposed exile in London.

Sharif, 73, returns with the hope of leading his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PNL-N) party to victory in general elections at a time when the country faces overlapping security, economic and political crises.

Sharif’s last three terms as prime minister in 1990-93, 1997-99, and 2013-17 ended before he could complete his tenures, as he was removed by a military-backed president in 1993, ousted in a military coup in 1999, and disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017. He has lived in self-exile in the UK since 2019 after he was convicted in two separate corruption cases and got seven- and ten-year jail terms. The 2018 election was won by the party of now-jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Ahead of his return on Saturday afternoon, Sharif was granted protective bail by the Islamabad High Court, an order under which authorities cannot arrest him until he himself appears before a court on Oct. 24.

"NAWAZ SHARIF IS BACK IN HIS HOMELAND," the PML-N wrote on social media platform X.

“Today, I am returning to Pakistan after four years and I am feeling very happy,” Sharif told reporters at Dubai airport before boarding the Islamabad-bound flight. “When I left Pakistan four years ago, I wasn't happy at all. But today I am.”

He said the key challenge before him was improving Pakistan’s economic situation and added that the election commission would decide if general elections should be held in January or delayed further.

“They are the competent authority to make such decisions. Today, we have a fair election commission and it will make the best decision.”

Sharif's plane landed in Islamabad on Saturday afternoon. He is expected to fly onwards to Lahore, where he will address a rally at the Iconic Minar-e-Pakistan monument in the evening, and present an economic recovery plan, according to members of his party.

Sharif supporters started gathering at the Minar-e-Pakistan ground on Friday ahead of the homecoming rally from where the ex-PM will kick off his election campaign.

"Nawaz Sharif will land in Islamabad and then fly to Lahore after clearing the immigration process," PML-N joint secretary Tallal Chaudhry, who is among the organizers of the Lahore public gathering, told Arab News.

 "He will directly fly to Minar-e-Pakistan in a helicopter from the Lahore airport to address the gathering."

Chaudhry said the public's response to their leader returning to the country was "extraordinary."

"Caravans from across Pakistan are en route to Lahore to welcome Nawaz Sharif," he said. 

Chaudhry said Sharif would kick off the PML-N's election campaign from the Lahore rally and later address his supporters at different public gatherings across various cities. He said Sharif would face "all fabricated cases" against himself in Pakistani courts and stand vindicated.

"Today is a historic moment not only for our party but also for the general public and democracy of this country as a true public leader will be among them today to steer the country out of its economic and political crises," he said.

Sharif returns to Pakistan at a time when his rival, ex-PM Imran Khan, arguably the most popular politician in the country, is in jail after being convicted in a case related to not declaring assets earned from the sale of state gifts during his term as PM from 2018-22. The conviction has effectively put Khan out of the race in the next election as convicted persons cannot run for public office as per Pakistani law.

There are dozens of other legal cases against Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) faces a widening crackdown that has seen hundreds of his supporters and members arrested over violent protests in May. Many of his oldest and closest aides have announced they were leaving Khan, quitting politics or joining other parties.

Khan says the cases against him are fabricated and politically motivated and his associates are being forced out of the PTI under duress by the military in a maneuver to dismantle his party before elections. The army denies this.

Many independent analysts expect fresh crisis in Pakistan if a free election is not organized and question the legitimacy of an election without Khan or one that does not offer his PTI a fair chance.

“It is obvious now that the leader [Sharif] of one party is getting relief from courts while the other [Khan] one is faced with numerous legal challenges ahead of the elections,” analyst Adnan Rehmat said.

Academic and political commentator Dr. Hassan Askari Rizvi said all political parties and their leaders should be allowed to freely contest polls.

“We will see after the election regulator announces the election schedule,” he said, “if a level playing field is available to all contesting candidates and parties.”