PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday roused up a crowd in Lahore for the return of party supremo Nawaz Sharif later this month, saying the elder Sharif was not coming back for revenge.

Nawaz, who has been in self-imposed exile since 2019, left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term on medical grounds. In the four years that transpired, Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases for his continuous absence from proceedings.

Last month, Shehbaz had confirmed that his elder brother was returning to the country on October 21. Subsequently, the PML-N had declared that Nawaz was ready to face “all kinds of circumstances” upon his return from London.

A day earlier, PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah said Nawaz would return to the country with protective bail and would “surrender to the court after his (welcome) reception” in Lahore.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Lahore as the PML-N prepares for the return of the former three-time premier, Shehbaz highlighted that the rate of flour and sugar during Nawaz’s tenure was Rs35 and Rs52, respectively.

“And there was nothing known as inflation,” he said.

Shehbaz said Nawaz’s “crime” was that he worked tirelessly for the country’s development, made Pakistan a nuclear power, and established schools and colleges for the youth.

“This was Nawaz’s crime and that is why there was rigging in the 2018 elections […] and you and your children were deprived of education, medical treatment, prosperity and development,” he said.

“I am here to tell you that, if God wills, your son is returning on October 21,” the PML-N president said. Shehbaz vowed that Nawaz would return to restart the journey toward prosperity and development which had been abandoned.

He urged the crowd to show up at Minar-i-Pakistan on October 21 for Nawaz’s welcome. At the same time, Shehbaz asserted that the elder Sharif was returning to Pakistan not to take revenge but to take the country towards the path of prosperity once again.

“Those characters that did injustice with him, you know them very well. But the decision that needs to be made — will revenge be taken or will the poor and the orphaned be helped?” he asked.

Shehbaz concluded his address by again calling on the crowd to show up at Minar-i-Pakistan on October 21.