A senior leader of the PML-N on Thursday hinted at the return of former prime minister and party supremo Nawaz Sharif ahead of the general election, saying that the senior Sharif who was earlier eight hours away from Pakistan in London was now only two-and-a-half hours away in Dubai.

Referring to the recent meeting held between Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Dubai to hammer out a consensus on the upcoming poll alliance, senior party leader and federal minister Mian Javed Latif said that "prosperity would return whenever Nawaz returned to the country".

"Nawaz was earlier eight hours away from Pakistan, and now he was only two-and-a-half hours away. He will decide about the PML-N's alliance for the upcoming elections," Latif said while addressing reporters about the meeting between Sharif and Zardari.

Last week Sharif, 73, travelled to the UAE from London, the city where he has been living in self-exile since November 2019 after acquiring a medical bail from jail following his conviction in a series of graft cases.

Nawaz Sharif was issued a diplomatic passport for a period of five years by the government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in November last year. Shehbaz Sharif, 71, is the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif.

On Thursday, Latif said that friendly countries were making investments in Pakistan at the request of Nawaz Sharif, as he would become the prime minister of Pakistan "for the fourth time".

During a party meeting last week, Shehbaz Sharif, the president of PML-N, had also hinted at the possible return of his elder brother to lead the party's poll campaign in the general election and become the premier of the nation for a record fourth time.

In a separate press conference on PML-N and PPP meeting in Dubai, PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi said that the shape of any future alliance with the PML-N or other political players depended purely on the outcome of the general election, expected to be held in October.

Insiders said that it was decided that elder Sharif of PML-N and Zardari of PPP, would "talk directly" on these issues instead of allowing a prolonged debate "at the lower level", which would be a waste of time.

Pakistan, currently in the throes of a major political as well as economic crisis, started preparations for the general election with a meeting of the election commission recently. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led by the PML-N is also fighting the challenge posed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The current National Assembly will complete its five-year term on August 12 and the fresh general election must be conducted within 60 days as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan.