By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Thousands of supporters joined Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday as the ousted prime minister set off on a “homecoming” march to Lahore, local media reported.
Well-wishers thronged around Sharif’s armored motorcade outside Punjab House, broadcaster Geo TV reported. He was joined by his replacement as premier, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The 380-kilometer (237-mile) journey has been referred to as a display of Sharif’s continued standing and strength after he was forced to quit late last month over undeclared assets.
His cavalcade set off at 11.40 a.m. local time (0640GMT) despite security warnings.
More than 3,000 police oversaw his departure from Islamabad and passage through Rawalpindi. Thousands of other security personnel are to guard the route to Lahore.
Roads were sealed and businesses ordered to close by police.
Backers of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chanted slogans, threw rose petals and waved posters of the former prime minister as they lined the roads and trailed his motorcade.
Samaa TV cited the government as saying up to 1,000 vehicles and 6,000 people had joined the procession by 2.30 p.m. local time (0930GMT).
Before leaving Punjab House, the offices of the Punjab provincial government in the capital, Sharif met several government ministers.
– Lion
Lahore, the capital of Punjab, is Sharif’s hometown and the PML-N’s seat of power. He is expected to arrive there Friday.
Placards declaring “Nawaz Sharif is our Prime Minister” and “Look, look, who has come — the lion has come, the lion has come” could be seen. The lion is the election symbol of the PML-N.
Drums rang out as walls, billboards and bridges were decorated with life-size posters of Sharif.
Sharif, 67, was disqualified from office by the Supreme Court on July 28. It ruled that he had acted in an untrustworthy manner by failing to declare a salary from his son’s Dubai-based company ahead of the 2013 election.
The court also ordered the opening of corruption cases against Sharif and family members over revelations stemming from the Panama Papers scandal. Sharif has said he will file a review petition against the judgement.
During his journey to Lahore, Sharif plans to address 10 rallies along the route, just as he did in 2009 when he campaigned for the restoration of Supreme Court judges dismissed by military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
The high-profile events have sparked safety fears among his advisers. In December 2007, Benazir Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated while campaigning in Rawalpindi.
Some commentators have viewed Sharif’s march as an aggressive attempt to remain in the limelight, rally support and possibly influence the courts set to hear the corruption cases.
However, Sharif, who has held office as prime minister on three occasions but never completed a full term, has said the march is aimed at strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
“This is not a power show but I have to complete a century — I’m not going anywhere,” he told reporters, referring to scoring 100 runs in cricket.
