For four years, the question hung over Pakistani politics: when will Nawaz Sharif come back to Pakistan? The answer arrived on 21 October 2023 — a chartered jet from London, legal formalities at Islamabad airport, a helicopter hop over Lahore, and a Minar-e-Pakistan rally before nightfall. This is the full story of that day: why he had left, how the return was staged, and what it changed.
Quick answer: Nawaz Sharif came back to Pakistan on 21 October 2023 after four years of self-imposed exile in London. He landed in Islamabad in the afternoon, completed legal and biometric formalities, flew to Lahore, and addressed a massive PML-N homecoming rally at Minar-e-Pakistan the same evening — months before the February 2024 general elections.
In this guide
The Day: 21 October 2023, Hour by Hour
The return was choreographed like a campaign launch — because it was one. Nawaz boarded a chartered flight in London carrying more than 150 people: PML-N leaders, workers and journalists. In Dubai, during a stopover, he told reporters he was “returning to Pakistan after being vindicated” and that his party could steer the country out of crisis.
He landed at Islamabad airport in the afternoon, where his legal team — including former law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar — was waiting. In the VIP lounge he signed legal documents and completed biometric formalities under the protective bail the courts had granted, then boarded the same plane for Lahore, touching down after 5 pm to a reception led by his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.
Then came the spectacle. A helicopter — with Shehbaz and Ishaq Dar aboard — lifted Nawaz from Lahore airport to a special helipad built at Diwan-e-Khaas near the Lahore Fort. A caravan of vehicles carried him the final stretch to Minar-e-Pakistan, where the PML-N had spent weeks preparing: special trains booked to ferry workers from across Punjab, and a venue decked in the party’s green and yellow. That night he addressed the homecoming rally and then retired to the family estate at Jati Umra.
Why He Had Left Pakistan
Nawaz had not left by choice. In November 2019, while serving a seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption reference, courts granted him medical bail and the government briefly removed his name from the Exit Control List so he could seek treatment in London. He flew out — and stayed.
Over the next four years he was convicted in absentia proceedings’ shadow: declared a proclaimed offender in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases for absconding. From a flat in London’s Avenfield House — the very apartments at the centre of his conviction — he steered PML-N strategy, including the opposition alliance that removed Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in April 2022. His return became possible only after protective bail and a legal strategy his team had prepared for months.
What Happened After the Return
The courts moved quickly. On 29 November 2023 the Islamabad High Court acquitted Nawaz in the Avenfield reference; on 12 December 2023 it acquitted him in Al-Azizia. The convictions that had exiled him were erased within seven weeks.
He then fronted the PML-N’s campaign for the 8 February 2024 elections — but the results denied the party a majority, and the premiership went to Shehbaz Sharif instead of a fourth Nawaz term. On 28 May 2024 Nawaz reclaimed the PML-N presidency, the role he holds today. For the bigger picture — the three terms, the fall and the man — read our main guide: Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan’s Three-Time Ex-Prime Minister, and the term-by-term record: All Three Terms Explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
When exactly did Nawaz Sharif return to Pakistan?
21 October 2023. He landed in Islamabad in the afternoon and addressed the Minar-e-Pakistan rally in Lahore the same evening, after four years in London.
Why did Nawaz Sharif go to London in the first place?
He left in November 2019 on medical bail while serving a jail term in the Al-Azizia case, after his name was briefly taken off the Exit Control List for treatment abroad. He did not return for four years.
Was Nawaz Sharif arrested when he landed?
No. His legal team had secured protective bail, and he completed legal and biometric formalities at Islamabad airport’s VIP lounge without being taken into custody.
Did Nawaz Sharif become prime minister after returning?
No. He campaigned as the PML-N’s prime-ministerial face for the 2024 elections, but the results produced a coalition led by his brother Shehbaz Sharif. Nawaz became PML-N president instead.
Related Guides
- Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan’s Three-Time Ex-Prime Minister — the complete story, from Lahore to London and back
- Nawaz Sharif as PM: All Three Terms Explained — 1990–93, 1997–99 and 2013–17, term by term
- Shehbaz Sharif — the brother who received him at Lahore airport and became PM instead
- Maryam Nawaz’s Scooty Scheme 2026 — his daughter, now Punjab’s chief minister, in action
