Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, has stated that the decision regarding whether to handcuff former premier and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif upon his return to the country in October will be made by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in accordance with the law.
Speaking to a private news channel, Prime Minister Kakar emphasized that the discretion to handcuff Nawaz Sharif lay within the purview of the LEAs, and they would make their decision in accordance with the law. He stated, “The law enforcement agencies will decide this matter in light of the law. If they think he should be chained, they will adopt that path and vice versa.”
Addressing concerns about the possibility of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest upon his return, Kakar asserted that he had no authority to decide whether the PML-N supreme leader should be detained or allowed to move freely. He reiterated that the decision regarding Nawaz Sharif’s legal status would be determined by the leadership of the judicial process and law enforcement agencies.
Kakar further clarified that the federal government could only intervene in the matter if it believed that the law was being disregarded by the concerned entities.
Nawaz Sharif, who is expected to return to Pakistan on October 21, 2023, had been convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption references in 2018. These cases are still pending before the courts. He had left the country in November 2019 after being granted temporary relief on medical grounds by the Islamabad High Court. However, he did not return as expected. In February 2020, the then Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government declared him an absconder, and later in the same year, an accountability court declared him a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicles reference. The nation now awaits Nawaz Sharif’s return and the subsequent legal proceedings that may follow.
