Brushing aside the speculation about his return, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif arrived at the Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIA) early Sunday morning amid stringent security measures. Upon his arrival at the airport at 4:49am by Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-758, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president was welcomed with rose petals and currency notes by a large gathering of the party cohorts and leaders who shouted anti-government slogans.
Shahbaz's return comes ahead of the upcoming budget sessions of the two houses of the parliament during which the opposition is expected to give a tough time to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. He is also expected to preside over a meeting of the party's parliamentary group on Monday (today) to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country and to devise a coordinated strategy for the budget sessions.
Before the arrival of Shahbaz, a large number of PML-N party workers, members of the parliament and leaders including PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Amir Muqam and Pervez Malik had gathered at the airport in the middle of the night.
In the form of a rally, party workers accompanied the PML-N president from the airport to his residence in Model Town where sweets were distributed. Commenting over the development, PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the return of Shahbaz means that "the leeway given to Imran Khan ends and his time to worry now begins".
She claimed said that "the fear of Shahbaz's return has made the prime minister hide in the mountains, while his spokespersons are dead silent." She requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to "return as he has to answer to Shahbaz for his inefficiency and incapability".
Following an order of the Lahore High Court orders, the PML-N president had announced a "quick visit" to London on April 9 after his name was removed from the exit control list. At the time, party sources had said that he intended to return within 10-12 days.
After reaching London, Shahbaz surprisingly quit the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on May 3 which had raised questions about the possibility of a "deal".
Reacting to Shahbaz departure, the members of PTI were off the opinion that Shahbaz would not return to the country as he was facing corruption charges and that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also planning to leave the country.
Commenting over the nomination of Rana Tanveer as PAC chairman after Shahbaz stepped down, Special Assistant to the PM on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan had alleged that if Shahbaz wanted to return, "he will not appoint someone even as a chowkidar (guard) outside his home".
"They [Sharifs] divide these positions within the family. If they have started appointing people outside the family, it indicates this is the first step towards a deal," she said.
Federal Communications Minister Murad Saeed had alleged that Shahbaz was trying to 'hide" in London. The Sharifs had failed to provide money trails and now their main focus was on finding ways to run away from the country, he alleged.
It may be reminded that Shahbaz is faces court cases regarding corruption and dishonesty. In the Ashiyana housing scam, Shahbaz is accused of ordering the cancellation of a contract given to successful bidder Chaudhry Latif and Sons for the low-cost housing scheme which led to the award of the contract to Lahore Casa Developers, a proxy group of Paragon City Private Limited, resulting in an approximate loss of Rs 193 million. In the Ramazan Sugar Mills corruption case, Shahbaz and his son Hamza Shahbaz are also accused of "fraudulently and dishonestly" causing a loss of Rs 213 million to the national exchequer.