Pakistan: Opposition criticises use of govt resources for Nawaz Sharif's return

Lahore, October 22

Jailed former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has strongly criticised the ‘VVIP protocol’ given to ex-premier Nawaz Sharif upon his return to Pakistan, alleging that all federal and Punjab government resources were used to manage the return of a “convicted absconder”.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary general Omar Ayub Khan said Sharif was being unjustly and unlawfully facilitated in everything, claiming that the people will however hold the “convicted prisoner” accountable if no one else does, Dawn News reported.

“A convicted prisoner got VVIP protocol and the stateroom opened at Islamabad Airport to receive him,” Ayub Khan said, adding that Pakistan’s legal system had been completely destroyed by the three-time premier’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Nawaz on Saturday received a rousing welcome at his arrival in Islamabad, marking an end to his four-year self-imposed exile in the UK.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s media reported that Nawaz Sharif cut a tamer figure and opted for the role of elder statesman by emphasising several times that he was not back to take revenge, but to unite the country.