PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has expressed his hope that elections would be held this year as he departed for Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

The former prime minister was quoted as saying by Aaj News anchorperson Munizae Jahangir in London, according to her tweet on Friday.

Many PML-N leaders have tied their party’s victory in the general elections to the return of Sharif, citing that the party’s supremo would lead the poll campaigns.

Before leaving for Saudi Arabia, the PML-N chief met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and exchanged views on the political situation in Pakistan and other matters.

After the meeting PM Shehbaz said that Nawaz Sharif is still being treated in London, however, his condition is better now.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was re-elected as the party’s president for four years earlier this month but clarified that the post was temporary and would be given back to Nawaz Sharif upon his return to the country.

“Nawaz Sharif will return from abroad to lead the country to progress and prosperity after becoming prime minister for the fourth time,” he said after intra-party elections held during a general council meeting of the PML-N at the party’s secretariat on June 17.

The possibility of Sharif’s return was increased after the Senate passed amendments to the Election Act changing the limitations of how long a parliamentarian can be disqualified.

In the rules passed by the upper house on June 17, in cases where the duration has not been specifically outlined, a person’s disqualification to run for provincial or central legislatures will not exceed five years.

They also have a chance to overturn their disqualifications, with the help of four sections of the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act 2023.

Sharif left for London on November 19, 2019, after he was released by the Islamabad High Court on bail from a seven-year sentence for corruption. His bail was approved on medical grounds for eight weeks in the Al Azizia case.

He was diagnosed with an immune system disorder. The 70-year-old PML-N supremo had got bail in two corruption cases and is facing another reference by the National Accountability Bureau.

His departure had come after deliberation and undertaking by his brother and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that stated he would “ensure the return of his brother within four weeks or on certification by doctors that he has regained his health and is fit to return back to Pakistan”.