THE claim by PML-N`s Maryam Nawaz that her father Nawaz Sharif will `end inflation` when he comes to Pakistan leads to the obvious question: why is the elder Mr Sharif still in London? As chief organiser, Ms Nawaz made this statement to a crowd of young party workers in KP, with the obvious intention of giving the party`s support base hope that the PML-N supremo will return to the country. But it is hardly a sensible statement to make, considering there has never been any official explanation for Mr Sharif`s prolonged stay in a foreign country for so many years. His absence is especially puzzling now when the cost-of-living crisis in the country is dire and affecting voters on whom his party has pinned its electoral hopes. Although he had gone abroad on the pretext of medical complications that arose during his incarceration, it is evident that Mr Sharif seems to have made a good recovery and is reasonably healthy now certainly enough to be able to travel.

Over the past year, he has visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE and several cities in Europe for leisure and other matters. Surely, he is fit enough to travel to Pakistan and should do so if he wishes to remain politically relevant, even at the cost of confronting legal challenges on his return. Instead, though the party`s key decision-maker, he continues to live in London, where key members of the PML-N party rush at the drop of a hat to seek his guidance or blessings. It is an absolutely ridiculous state of affairs, and one that the already dejected voter will remember when election time approaches.

If, as Ms Nawaz avers, Mr Sharif is able to `end inflation`, his stay in London is even more indefensible. His party members claim that he has ability to fix Pakistan`s challenges if given a chance, but are unable to explain why their leader does not return to the country to engage with potential voters as they are crushed under soaring electricity bills, fuel prices and food inflation. A new date of mid-October has been floated by his brother for his return, but because the senior Sharif has never really revealed why he has taken so long to come back, no one is holding their breath for the Oct 15 deadline to become a reality.