Allowing Nawaz Sharif to go abroad was the 'biggest mistake': Imran Khan

PM Imran Khan admitted that allowing former premier Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for treatment was the "biggest mistake" of the Pakistan government.

Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted on Friday that allowing former premier Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for treatment was the "biggest mistake" of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

Sharif, 72, is currently based in London, where he is receiving medical treatment since November 2019.

The former prime minister and the principal opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo's health has evoked considerable interest in Pakistan.

Sharif suffered from cardiac problems, apart from multiple health issues, according to media reports.

Addressing a public gathering in Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistan's Punjab province, Khan while referring to Sharif's health condition before he was allowed to leave Pakistan said that his government felt that he might not survive even for a single day.

I admit today that we made the biggest mistake by allowing him [Nawaz] to go abroad, Imran admitted.

In 2019, the Lahore High Court lifted a travel ban on Sharif.

Initially, Khan was reluctant to let him go because Sharif had not even served 12 months of the 7-year prison sentence that was slapped on him owing to charges of corruption.

Prime Minister Khan had wanted him to sign a bond worth PKR 7.7 billion before allowing him to travel, but the High Court intervened and allowed him to leave the country.

Khan's mass public rally on Friday was launched to counter the concerted efforts from opposition parties like PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party, among others who were trying to table a no-trust motion in Parliament and oust Khan from power.

Khan's salvo at his political adversary comes at a time when his popularity ratings have taken a hit across several regions in the country.

Sharif has a popularity rate of 58 per cent in Punjab, 46 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 51 per cent in Sindh provinces respectively, compared to the incumbent Prime Minister, who could only muster 44 per cent in Punjab and 33 per cent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces respectively.

These results were part of the findings of a Gallup Pakistan opinion survey that was conducted from December 22 to January 31, 2022, to test the popularity of Khan, Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.