Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that his elder brother Nawaz Sharif will become the country's next premier if the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerges as the victor in the upcoming general election in November.
During a public meeting in Kasur, Shehbaz said that his brother Nawaz will "change the country's destiny" by boosting agriculture, industry and infrastructure of Pakistan after returning to power as the Prime Minister for the fourth time, news agency PTI reported.
"Nawaz Sharif will be the next prime minister of Pakistan. He will serve the people as he had done before," said the 71-year-old premier.
He further said that under Nawaz's tenure as PM, Pakistan witnessed a phenomenal progress and improved bilateral ties with China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which were "damaged" by his predecessor Imran Khan.
The 73-year-old Nawaz Sharif, who has served as Pakistan's PM three times, has been in self-imposed exile in London since 2019. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court and was declared ineligible to hold public office for life next year after a Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case.
Before leaving for the UK on medical grounds, Nawaz was serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case.
Meanwhile, a senior party leader in Punjab province said that the elder Sharif will return to the country after he gets relief from the cases in which he is convicted. "After Prime Minister Shehbaz's statement that the election will be held as per the digital census conducted earlier this year, it means the elder Sharif may get more time to settle his cases before booking a flight back to Pakistan," he said.
PML-N's ex-federal minister Talal Chaudhry also said that Nawaz Sharif will lead PML-N's election campaign and the only candidate for the post of the Prime Minister. "The moment Nawaz Sharif boards a plane to Pakistan, it should be seen as a sign of elections taking place in the country," he added.
Last month, PM Shehbaz had his self-exiled brother will face the law upon his return to the country.
Shehbaz also announced to his allied partners that the National Assembly will be prematurely dissolved on August 9, three days before its term. This action will pave the way for a caretaker government to oversee election proceedings.
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