Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday evening attempted to shut down speculations about his absence from Nawaz Sharif's 'homecoming' rally, asking that when "almost 99 per cent" of the PML-N’s leadership was not participating in the GT Road procession, why was a fuss being created over his absence.

The ousted prime minister is leading a procession, along with the PML-N leaders as he heads towards his hometown, Lahore, via the Grand Trunk (GT) Road. There has been much speculation as to why his party's most senior leadership has desisted from accompanying him on the journey.

In a statement released by Chaudhry Nisar’s spokesperson, the former interior minister was quoted as criticising a section of the media for "running baseless news throughout the day".

“I never said that I will drive Nawaz Sharif’s car till Lahore, but some media houses have been running this baseless news on repeat,” he complained.

Chaudhry Nisar further conveyed that he himself never attributed his non-participation in the rally to health reasons or back pain.

The former interior minister urged media persons to verify statements before attributing them to him on national media.

Speculations have surrounded Nisar's political future after he was repeatedly absent from meetings of the PML-N's senior leadership to discuss the party's strategy following Nawaz Sharif's ouster.

Nisar later explained that he had adopted a contrary position on some important matters in the PML-N's internal meetings, after which he was excluded from the consultative process.