In this photo taken on Sep 19, 2016, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talks to British Prime Minister Theresa May during a bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York. ISLAMABAD: Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif arrived back in Pakistan on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, primed to make a political comeback
Sharif will travel onwards to the eastern megacity of Lahore, where supporters were already gathering for a welcome home rally with streets shrouded in green and yellow party banners, posters and flags. Supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif wave the party's flags as they await his arrival at a park in Lahore on Oct 21, 2023. Sharif's return has been touted for months by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, whose leaders hope Sharif's political clout and"man of the soil" swagger will revive its popularity flagging amid an economic backslide.
His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes to the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from contesting elections to five years.