DESPITE the enactment of a slew of tailor-made laws that have paved the way for his `safe` return, and despite his party enjoying ostensible support from the state machinery, Nawaz Sharif`s promised homecoming still seems elusive. The three-time former prime minister was recently in the neighbourhood, and there was feverish speculation that he may soon hop onto a plane for Lahore after his furtive rendezvous with the PPP co-chairman in Dubai.

Reportedly, the two had chosen to meet away from prying ears and eyes to discuss the modalities of the next general election and their political future. However, soon after those talks, Mr Sharif seems to have jetted off west instead of heading east, and it now appears that his arrival in the country is once again uncertain. What exactly is his plan, and why does Mr Sharif, who only recently expressed a wish to rule Pakistan for a fourth time, have such little interest in returning to the country? There are many within the PML-N`s ranks who believe Mr Sharif`s extended sojourn in London has greatly hurt the party`s prospects. Without its `supreme leader` around, the PML-N has experienced considerable internal tension between those loyal to him, and those whose interests align more with his younger brother`s. These internal tensions have repeatedly come to the fore, especially over the man appointed by Mr Sharif to manage Pakistan`s economic affairs since September last year.

Still, these disturbances have not been enough to convince the former prime minister to return. There have been rumours and speculation that the elder Sharif insists on being laundered afresh by the state ie, he wants all pending legal challenges against him dismissed or neutralised before he returns. His government has certainly been working towards that end, tinkering with accountability laws and skirmishing with the Supreme Court over past verdicts. However, while all of this may well clear his name on paper, the acid test of Mr Sharif`s politics will be his acceptability to the Pakistani electorate, with which he has made no effort to reconnect nor seems interested in doing so. He must realise that he cannot expect to be handed the PM`s office on a platter. If he legitimately wants to be PM again, he must return to Pakistan and seek his political fortunes here instead of controlling its affairs through proxies.