'Fugitive was given the status of state guest': PTI on Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan reception

Calling Nawaz Sharif, a ‘fugitive’, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has hit out at the reception rolled out to the former prime minister upon return from a four-year-long self-imposed exile.

“A criminal and fugitive was given the status of state guest,” said PTI spokesperson Shoaib Shaheen.

Shaheen was referring to the suspension of arrest warrants against Sharif a day before his return on Saturday and the subsequent reception.

The three-time prime minister was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in December 2018 over corruption charges. He, however, was released on medical bail in October 2019 and left Pakistan weeks later the pretext of treatment. He remained in London all this while and finally returned on Saturday.

In a display of strength, Nawaz addressed a massive rally in Lahore the first thing upon return.

Nawaz, who was ousted during the tenure of Prime Minister Imran Khan, announced at the Lahore rally he didn’t “wish to take revenge.”

The PTI spokesperson also claimed that the government led by Nawaz’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, which ran from mid-20222 to August this year, gave Pakistan the highest inflation in the last 16 months.

He also highlighted Nawaz’s biometric verification at Islamabad airport, which he said made people witness “how a criminal was granted bail.”

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While Nawaz was addressing a massive gathering in Lahore, a PTI corner meeting in the city was raided by the police. Shaheen slammed the police for raiding the residences of PTI supporters and violating their privacy as well.

He claimed that if Imran Khan — who was ousted from power via a parliamentary vote in April 2022 — was allowed to hold a rally he would draw a bigger mass support than Nawaz.