Nawaz returns to Lahore after announcing 'movement for rule of law'

E-Paper | April 25, 2026

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif landed in Lahore on Sunday after spending over 10 days in London, DawnNews reported.

The former premier arrived in the city with his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, and headed straight to his Jati Umra residence. On Dec 5, the two had departed for London to see Kulsoom Nawaz, the former prime minister's wife, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer in the British capital for some time.

Addressing media in London before his departure for Pakistan on Saturday, Nawaz had announced that he would spearhead a fully-fledged movement for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution in the country.

The announcement had come after the Supreme Court rejected PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi's petition for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's disqualification.

On Saturday, Nawaz had bitterly criticised the apex court, alleging that it had adopted double standards in handling his case and that of the PTI chief.

Drawing parallels, Sharif said that while he had been sacked in the Panama Papers case for not receiving a salary — amounting to a few thousand dirhams — from his son’s company, Imran Khan had been acquitted despite the fact that he had admitted to having hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of business transactions through his offshore company Niazi Services Ltd.

“This double standard is not acceptable anymore and I’ll launch a movement across the country with full force for the supremacy of law and Constitution,” he had declared.

Nawaz and his daughter are set to appear before an accountability court in Islamabad in corruption cases next week.

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Nawaz

Dec 17, 2017 09:45am

Drawing parallels with IK's case is unfair and just out of desperation. Even a common man on the street knows that IK's case was completely different from ex PM's case although judgement could have been more convincing and encompassed a broader picture not just aqama issue. Why didn't ex PM think about and enforce rule of law in general when in power? They were running a worst type of civil dictatorship and paid little heed to the problems of a common man. Nepotism, corruption and favouritism was widespread as usual.

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Y p mississauga

Dec 17, 2017 09:50am

Rule of law as interpreted by NS.

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Sultan

Dec 17, 2017 10:09am

Very funny indeed! People... who are clueless about rule of law and abuse judiciary on regular basis...now will start movement for rule of law!

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Observer

Dec 17, 2017 10:13am

Please spare the country from further victimization. You along with your family have lost all credibility. Please return the stolen wealth of this nation and take some time out with your family to contemplate on your wrong doing. You have failed to demostrate any remorse and being beligerent does not serve any cause. Enough is enough.

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Rashid

Dec 17, 2017 10:16am

I am glad that he finally have some time to think about rule of, he must have been really busy for four years when he was the prime minister because he never thought of rule of law during those four years.

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Asad

Dec 17, 2017 10:43am

What a joke, or admission of failure after ruling for 4 years and his party still in government that courts are not dispensing justice? If there is no rule of law what has your government been doing or has done for the rule of law for last almost 5 years in federation and 10 years in Punjab?

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Hamza

Dec 17, 2017 11:03am

This will be the end of NS and n-league, this time for good, why doesnt learn! repeats the same mistakes over and over again!

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Talha

Dec 17, 2017 11:10am

Mian Sahab you don't have to run a movement for the rule of law. You can restore rule of law by just returning the nation's stolen money you have and by respecting all the punishments the courts have given you and will give you.

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Sultan

Dec 17, 2017 11:22am

NS wants to start the movement for the rule of Law. The Law/movement that specifically benefits only and only NS.

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WARRIs

Dec 17, 2017 11:33am

What Nawaz Sharif can do now what he was not able to do during the last 3 decades??

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WARRIs

Dec 17, 2017 11:34am

Nawaz Sharif is now talking about the rule of law because he is at the receiving end, and suffering ego defeat!!

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karamba

Dec 17, 2017 12:00pm

So there is an admission by the three time ex-PM that there was no supremacy of rule of law and constitution while he was in power. The question begs to arise what he was doing all this time.

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Pakistani from Seattle

Dec 17, 2017 12:03pm

Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people. John Adams I wish the general population could understand that there is no comparison between the two cases. NS has been a businessman and politician for over three decades and still had serious loopholes in his accounting. IK’s assets in question are from a time when he was a cricketer. His ability to track down most of paperwork makes me trust his integrity even more.

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Junaid Ali

Dec 17, 2017 12:13pm

He should accept the fact that he don't have any support left and he should also remember the embarrassment he faced right after disqualification when no more than 100 people followed him in his so called long march from Islamabad to Lahore and hardly 500 people showed up in his rallies on the way to Lahore and it aslo reported that those people were given money by PMLN local members to come to the ralies

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Khan

Dec 17, 2017 12:14pm

Good move

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Fareed Hussain

Dec 17, 2017 12:28pm

The last thing one could expect from the Sharif is implementation of rule of law. Rule of law implies playing by the same rules regardless of political or financial status or social position of anyone. Everyone being equal in the eyes of the law. That can only happen if law enforcement agencies are completely free from interference by law makers and other people in high positions. The role of law makers is then to set up institutions to ensure that the law is applied fairly and evenly to every citizen without favour or fear. Sharif who have built up an empire on patronage of supporter and victimisation of opponents, they will always fight for the status quo, because status quo has allowed them to behave like kings and Queens. There is no way they'll want to change that, whatever they say in public and no matter how hard they try to fool us, not may will fall for it.

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imran

Dec 17, 2017 01:23pm

NS has been breaking the law for years through vaious corruption practices and now he is presenting a smoke screen to say the rule of law should prevail.

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Dec 17, 2017 01:55pm

There is no comparison - Imran Khan has never held a public office and still had to go through unprecedented scrutiny which was neither warranted nor fair by any standards. It is the holders of public offices who need to stand accountable under continuous oversight in order to prevent conflict of interest and violation of public trust.

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Syed

Dec 17, 2017 02:21pm

How come a corrupt person can implement a rule of law. History has showed us again and again...

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Falcon1

Dec 17, 2017 04:16pm

NS talking about rule of law is like those rioting Lahore lawyers, who care little for law and order and harrass opposing parties or anyone who takes them to court. They think they are above the law or are a law unto themselves. It has to be the joke of the Year! Thank you NS. Please go to London often, to return with more amusing ideas. You've lost your marbles, me thinks!

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Ahsan Gul

Dec 17, 2017 06:34pm

He is finished as a political person. He must be worried about his future as the law is getting close to him and his jail.

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Hasan

Dec 17, 2017 09:36pm

@Pakistani from Seattle "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people. John Adams" Although I agree with your comments, quoting John Adams doesn't really do you any favours. A man who was pivotal in creating the independent slaveholding/ethnic cleansing republic of America, and who himself signed in some of the most repressive and hypocritical anti-immigration laws at the time, isn't even worth a footnote in history. Hasan

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Imran

Dec 17, 2017 10:24pm

Nawaz Sharif continues to prove himself utterly incompetent and is not even fit to be a peon in the Prime ministers office let alone be the Prime Minister himself.

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Syed Hafeez Imran

Dec 17, 2017 10:30pm

best to start with yourself!. Attacking the supreme court physically and verbally, bulldozing amendments in electoral; laws and constitution of your party to suit yourself; backtracking and creating hurdles in the FAtA reforms to appease ONE person and to save your government-- THESE are the things you should start to address and correct But you are so vain, egoistic, intellectually challenged and self centered that to you they dont matter, nor do the welfare of the people and national interests i

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A patriotic national

Dec 17, 2017 10:54pm

Sir Salam - I request that such sort of posture may not help the nation. Let us move forward and have the law changed whereby disqualification can be quashed, and have new elections in the time to come. Sir, I suggest, you being a Big Brother, invite IK for a cup of tea, forgive and forget, and move forward to Build this Nation! Pakistan Paindabad

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qamar

Dec 18, 2017 01:50am

Actually Nawaz Sharif knows very well that 90% of voters are uneducated, they cannot look deeper into the problems so he tries every way to influence their mind, this statement is not for people who have sense, he does not even understands what is rule of law.

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F S

Dec 18, 2017 06:38pm

He is not getting tired of making a joke out of himself and his family.

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MONIER

Dec 18, 2017 08:39pm

Everytime he comes back from London, he seems to be charged up in more ego

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