Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that allowing former premier Nawaz Sharif to leave the country for medical treatment in the UK was a “mistake” and his government “regretted” the decision.
Sharif, 70, was allowed to leave for London in November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him a four-week permission to go abroad for treatment.
The three-time premier had submitted an undertaking to the court to return to Pakistan, citing his record of facing the law and justice, within four weeks or as soon as he is declared healthy and fit to travel by the doctors.
In an interview with ARY News on Thursday, Khan said it was a “mistake” on his part to allow Sharif to leave Pakistan. He said his government “regretted” the decision to lift a ban on Sharif.
“Now we feel embarrassed. Now he (Nawaz) has started doing politics [from] there as well and, when you see him, it seems like there is nothing (wrong) with him,” Khan said.
In May, a fresh picture of Sharif having tea at a London cafe along with his family went viral on social media, sparking a debate on his health with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf members demanding his return to face corruption cases.
In the picture, he was seen sitting at a roadside cafe with his granddaughters. He sported a blue shalwar kameez and a cap and apparently looked in better health.
The government came under criticism when last week Sharif’s photos surfaced, showing him strolling in a street, prompting calls from within the ruling party to bring him back.