By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Pakistan’s three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday returned to his country after nearly four years in self-exile.

His special chartered plane landed in the capital Islamabad as he was accompanied by party leaders and a group of journalists.

After meeting his legal team, Sharif will depart for Lahore where he will also attend a public gathering, according to local broadcaster Geo News.

Ahead of Sharif’s arrival, several streets in cities across Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province were plastered with his life-sized posters, while his party workers from across the country have arrived in Lahore to welcome him.

On Thursday, the Islamabad High Court and an accountability court in Islamabad granted protective bail to Sharif in three cases, clearing the way for his safe arrival as the court ordered police not to arrest him until Oct. 24.

Sharif flew from jail, where he was languishing after being convicted in a corruption case, to London for “medical treatment” in 2019 and never returned.

He was then declared an absconder for failing to appear in court.

He was convicted in two corruption cases stemming from the 2016 Panama Papers scandal, but his conviction in one of the cases was suspended by the Islamabad High Court.

Sharif, who began his political career in the 1980s under a martial law regime, has had a complicated relationship with Pakistan’s powerful army.

Two of his governments – in 1990 and 1997 – were dismissed by then-President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf, respectively.

His latest spell in power ended with him losing the right to hold office for life after investigations related to the Panama Papers scandal six years ago.

However, just before its tenure ended, the outgoing parliament passed a law to limit the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers to five years, clearing Sharif’s path to the ballot.

Over a tumultuous career spanning over four decades, the 73-year-old politician has been arrested multiple times, convicted by courts, jailed, and even forced into exile.

Many people see his return as a friendly liaison between Sharif and “the establishment,” a term widely used in Pakistan to refer to the powerful military.