PML-N competent enough to steer country out of crisis, says Nawaz Sharif

• Nawaz returning after 4-year self-imposed exile in London.
•  PML-N supremo puts his weight behind ECP over elections.
• "The situation in Pakistan is very disturbing and very worrying."

DUBAI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he is returning to Pakistan after “vindication” and added that his party is "competent enough" to steer the country of crisis.

“I am returning to Pakistan after being vindicated with the grace of Almighty Allah,” he said on Saturday while speaking to the journalists at Dubai airport ahead of Pakistan departure.

The three-time former prime minister is returning to Pakistan after ending 4-year self-imposed exile in London and is hoping to make a political comeback in the upcoming general elections expected to be held in the last week of January next year.

The former PM said his party is in a position to resolve the masses’ woes if elected into power.

Responding to a question related to the general elections, Nawaz put his weight behind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“Only the Election Commission can make a better decision regarding the elections. What the Election Commission thinks is right is my preference on the elections,” said Nawaz when he was asked about the January polls.

He also said that a "fair" Election Commission is in place in the country.

The PML-N supremo believes that his party is competent enough to take Pakistan out of the crisis that it is presently in.

“We are competent enough to solve the country's problems,” he said.

While mentioning the achievements of his previous sting powers, the PML-N supremo lamented that the country is in a much “worse situation” rather than being in a good position.

“The situation in Pakistan is very disturbing and that is very worrying,” said Nawaz.

'Lion of Punjab'

Nawaz has spent the past several days in Riyadh and Dubai, and is expected to arrive in Islamabad in the afternoon today from where he will leave for Lahore, where his supporters will gather for a welcome home rally.

His return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope Nawaz´s political clout and "man of the soil" swagger will revive its flagging popularity.

However, the former leader has a conviction for graft and an unfinished prison sentence hanging over him.

Earlier this week, the PML-N chief’s smooth return to the country was ensured after he secured relief from the Islamabad High Court and an accountability court, averting the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country.

Nawaz has been prime minister three times, but was ousted in 2017 and given a lifetime disqualification from politics after being convicted for not declaring a receivable salary.

He served less than a year of a seven-year sentence before getting permission to seek medical care in the United Kingdom, ignoring subsequent court orders to return during former prime minister Imran Khan´s government.

His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes to the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from contesting elections to five years.

Fans call him "the Lion of Punjab", the eastern and most populous province where his support is strongest, and he is known to parade big cats at extravagant political events drumming up support.