Tarar says Nawaz can be arrested upon failure to secure transit bail

ISLAMABAD: If former prime minister Nawaz Sharif does not secure transit bail while coming back to Pakistan, he can be arrested, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar said Tuesday.

In 2020, Islamabad High Court’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the PML-N supremo after he failed to return to Pakistan following the expiry of his bail.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), in November 2019, allowed Nawaz to go abroad for medical treatment and in the same month, he left for London — where he resides to date. His party has reiterated that his return is conditional upon the doctor’s approval.  

Time and again, there have been rumours of the former prime minister’s return to Pakistan, but the speculations increased after the formation of the coalition government in April — as PML-N is the major player in the coalition.

In his press conference today, Tarar — a member of Nawaz’s PML-N — said that if the party supremo receives transit bail, then he cannot be arrested upon arrival in Pakistan.

The law minister said if Nawaz fails to secure transit bail, then he will have to surrender himself and the “courts should provide [relief] to the people who are handing themselves over to the law voluntarily".

Tarar added that ex-premier Benazir Bhutto also secured transit bail when she came back to Pakistan.

Speaking about former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s return to the country, Tarar said that the law will take its course and "he will be facilitated in line with the rules and regulations".

Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar has said that the military leadership’s stance is that Musharraf should return, while top PML-N leaders, including Nawaz, have stated that no hurdles should be put in the way if the ex-president wishes to return.