A high court in Pakistan issued a protective bail on Thursday, preventing authorities from arresting the former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Sharif, who has spent four years in self-exile, is scheduled to return home on Saturday, October 21, as confirmed by his lawyer, Azam Nazeer Tarar.
Under the protective bail order, authorities are prohibited from taking Sharif into custody until he voluntarily appears before the court on October 24.
The 73-year-old Sharif was convicted on corruption charges in 2018, which led to his self-imposed exile.
Notably, Sharif did not complete any of his three terms as Prime Minister, serving from 1990-1993, 1997-1999, and 2013-2017. His tenures were marked by political turmoil, including his removal as premier by a military-backed president in 1993, his ousting in a military coup in 1999, and his disqualification by a court in 2017.
