LAHORE: PML-N has been trying to muster the party workers and mobilise them to come out in droves to welcome the supreme leader, Nawaz Sharif when he lands in Lahore on Saturday.

As per reports, the party also hired two aircraft to shower rose petals in Lahore upon his return.

Mr Nawaz has arrived in Dubai from Jeddah and will travel to Pakistan in a charter plane on Saturday.

The PML-N supremo is returning to the country after ending his four-year self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom.

‘Don’t let me down’

Addressing the launching ceremony of a new anthem on Thursday in connection with Mr Nawaz’s homecoming, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif asked party’s leaders and workers not to let him down on Saturday and accord a “historic reception” to his elder brother.

Shehbaz urges supporters not to let him down; Tarar says Nawaz to land in Islamabad

He said, “Nawaz Sharif would put the country on the road of progress”.

PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif praised her uncle, Mr Shehbaz, for standing by her father during difficult times.

“Many forces tried their best to eliminate Nawaz Sharif politically, but they failed,” she said.

Travel plan and rose petals

The PML-N supremo will land in Islamabad and leave for Lahore, where he’d address a rally at the Minar-i-Pakistan ground, according to party leader Attaullah Tarar.

The PML-N has hired the services of two small aircraft to shower rose petals in Lahore for three and a half hours (between 3:00pm and 6:30pm) on Saturday.

The Civil Aviation Authority has granted permission to a private company to dedicate their planes for the purpose.

‘New favourite’

Earlier on Thursday, the Islamabad High Court granted protective bail to Mr Nawaz in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases until Oct 24 (Tuesday).

Responding to the bail, PTI leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi called Mr Nawaz the “new ladla”.

“Today, the one who was calling someone else [Imran Khan] ladla [favourite] has now become ladla. Nawaz Sharif, a proclaimed offender and a convict, has got permission to roam around in the country…but let me tell you neither offering of motorbikes nor paradise pass will help them as the people have rejected him and his party,” Mr Elahi wrote on X.

He was referring to incentives offered by PML-N leaders to convince party workers to attend the Minar-i-Pakistan rally.

An ex-MNA of PML-N from Toba Tek Singh, Asadur Rehman, told the workers they would go to heaven if they attended the Minar-i-Pakistan rally.

The former MNA, who is also the brother of former Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramdey, told a party’s corner meeting that these were “difficult times” and tried to convince the attendants to welcome Mr Nawaz in Lahore on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023