Pakistani politics needs to be immediately rid of violence: Maryam Nawaz

LONDON: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz on Monday criticised the use of violence in politics.

“Pakistani politics needs to be immediately rid of violence,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said while briefly speaking to the media outside London’s Harley Clinic.

In an apparent jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Maryam said, “Some people encouraged the tradition of violence in politics.”

“There should be freedom of expression over differences in opinion,” she asserted.

Maryam, who is currently in London to tend to her ailing mother further said, “Will return to Pakistan very soon.”

Earlier today, Geo News reported citing sources that Nawaz and Maryam plan to return to Pakistan in a week.

The decision to return to Pakistan was made after a consultation with senior leaders of the PML-N as well as pressure from some party workers, sources disclosed.

Further, a suggestion to have Maryam Nawaz return to Pakistan before Sharif himself is under consideration as well, sources added.

Nawaz Sharif, Maryam to return to Pakistan in a week: sources

The decision was made after a consultation with senior PML-N leaders as well as pressure from some party workers, sources said

The PML-N supremo and the former first daughter, according to the sources, intend to lead their party's campaign ahead of the upcoming general election of 2018. In this regard, Sharif is said to have ordered preparations to be made in multiple cities, accordingly, for election campaign-related rallies.

However, prior to his flight back to Pakistan, a detailed medical check-up and a computed tomography (CT) scan of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, Sharif's ailing wife, will be carried out, following which the former prime minister will meet doctors for a comprehensive discussion on her health, current condition, and progress.