Nawaz will return in November, says son

Islamabad: Hassan Nawaz, the elder son of exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, yesterday set a date between November 15-30 for the return of his father and uncle Shahbaz Sharif to the country.

Speaking to private television news network Geo from his London home, Hassan said his father was in Madina and would return to Jeddah on the second day of Eid-ul-Fitr.

"After a few days' stay in Jeddah, it has been decided that he will proceed to London and will be free to take part in political activities."

The former prime minister would stay in his London home for two to three weeks to finalise certain matters and, along with Shahbaz, return to Pakistan sometime between November 15-30, Hassan said, adding: "The date of their return will be announced after consultation with the party cadres."

Meanwhile, Sharif's wife Kulsoom Nawaz confirmed that her husband was expected in London on either October 17 or 18.

Weak dictatorship

President General Pervez Musharraf's entreaties to Saudi authorities to confine her husband so that his reelection went according to plan showed the military establishment at its weakest, she told the news channel.

"The deportation of my husband showed that the military establishment was aware of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)'s popularity and sought to keep its leader away until the presidential election was held," she said.

"Involving a brotherly country just for the sake of their vested interests is unfortunate as far as our national image is concerned," she said. "Final decisions about our arrival in Pakistan would be made after Eid when Sharif arrives in London," she added.