Pakistan’s thrice-elected, self-exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns home ahead of vote

ABC News:

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s thrice-elected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was returning home Saturday on a special flight from Dubai, ending four years of self-imposed exile in London as he seeks to win the support of voters ahead of parliamentary elections due in January.

Sharif is expected to address a massive homecoming rally in the eastern city of Lahore later Saturday and his return comes as Pakistan experiences deepening political turmoil and one of its worst economic crises.

“Today I am going to Pakistan after four years and I am feeling very happy with the grace of Allah,” Sharif told reporters before leaving for Islamabad from Dubai. He had arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Friday from Saudi Arabia after traveling there last week from London.

He said he wished the situation in the country had improved in his absence. He left Pakistan in 2019, two years after he stepped down after being convicted in a graft case.

He said Pakistan’s economy and political situation both declined in recent years, according to multiple videos shared by his Pakistan Muslim League party on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.