PML-N ‘suspends’ rallies as Nawaz Sharif set to fly to Saudi Arabia

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has suspended party rallies and corner-meetings as the party supremo Nawaz Sharif plans to fly to Saudi Arabia tomorrow (Wednesday), where he will perform Umrah and spend time with his son Hussain Sharif.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui on Tuesday confirmed that Nawaz plans to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Nawaz, who has been in self-imposed exile since 2019, left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term on medical grounds. 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.

Last month, Shehbaz had confirmed that his elder brother was returning to the country on October 21. Subsequently, the PML-N had declared that Nawaz was ready to face “all kinds of circumstances” upon his return from London.

Last week, Nawaz’s legal team submitted his medical reports to the Lahore High Court, which said the PML-N supremo had “some residual anginal symptoms”. Separately, Shehbaz said the party’s legal team had cleared Nawaz’s arrival. Meanwhile, the elder Sharif marked his final day at Stanhope House, the party’s de facto London headquarters, on Oct 6.

In a talk with journalists, PML-N’s Irfan Siddiqui said Nawaz would leave for Saudi Arabia tomorrow (Wednesday). “I don’t have any reports of his meeting with the Royal family. “But he will perform Umrah, spend time with his son … most of his stay would be in Madina,” he revealed.

Siddiqui added that Nawaz would leave for the United Arab Emirates two days before his expected arrival in Pakistan on October 21. “He will rest there and is also expected to meet some party leaders.” In response to a question on reports regarding Nawaz visiting China and Qatar, the PML-N senator said the elder Sharif had no such trips scheduled before Oct 21.