Nawaz Sharif, a former three-time prime minister, returned to Pakistan on October 21 after four years of self-imposed exile in London amid economic and political turmoil in the nuclear-armed Southeast Asian nation.
Shortly after landing in Islamabad, Sharif traveled to his hometown of Lahore in the east. He told a crowd of thousands of supporters there that top priority of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party would be to tackle record inflation.
"I want to serve this nation," said the 73-year-old veteran politician in his address at the rally.
"My only desire is to see this nation prosper," Sharif said, promising to work toward economic recovery.
"We will control inflation," Sharif added without providing any details.
Sharif, who landed in Islamabad, is heading to the eastern city of Lahore, where he is expected to address a huge rally organized by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
The former prime minister's return comes just months ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for January.
Sharif stepped down in 2017 after being sentenced to 14 years in prison for graft.
In 2019, his successor and rival, Imran Khan, allowed him to leave for medical treatment in London, where he remained claiming he was forbidden to travel by his doctors.
Khan himself is in prison after he was found guilty of graft in August. He has appealed his three-year sentence, which he claims is politically motivated.
Sharif still has the status of a fugitive, but on October 19 judge Muhammad Bashir ruled he is not to be arrested until October 24, when he is due to appear in court. Bashir said that if Sharif fails to appear in court, he will face legal consequences.
Upon his conviction in 2017, Sharif was banned for life from running in elections. But the government led by his brother, Shebhaz Sharif, who was prime minister from April 2022 until August, amended the legislation, limiting the disqualification period to five years.
Pakistan, a nation of 241 million people, is grappling with a severe economic crisis that has seen living standards plunge rapidly.
"It is very sad to see that things have deteriorated so badly," Sharif told the media in Dubai before boarding the plane that brought him back home.