According to a report by The Express Tribune, a senior PML-N parliamentarian, on the condition of anonymity has said that while the party is aware of media reports speculating the return of Nawaz Sharif, there is no confirmation on that regard yet.
The party leader said that now the question of Sharif's return was no longer just for the sake of his family and their wishes, but for the future of the PML-N as a political party. "He should and must return at the earliest,” he stressed.
He further said that Nawaz Sharif shouldn't let the fear of political hardships prevent him from coming back to Pakistan, since the future of his party is at stake. “Cases should not stop Nawaz Sharif from returning now especially knowing that party is currently passing through testing times.”
The parliamentarian agreed with Federal Minister Mian Javeed Latif's views that PML-N wasn't doing enough to free Nawaz Sharif from the politically-motivated cases against him, and admitted that the party had failed to make any significant progress on that front in the last few months, despite being in power.
He conceded that the party no longer had a strong narrative, as its former narrative of 'vote ko izzat dou' (respect the vote) had boiled down, which would have been able to defeat Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the upcoming elections had they not compromised and formed a government.
“By forming a government, PML-N breathed life into PTI's deflating popularity. It was us who washed all PTI’s sins and shouldered all their mistakes,” he said.