- Nawaz Sharif expected to return to Pakistan on Saturday after 4 years

- He went to London for 'medical treatment' in 2019 and never returned and later the court declared him absconder

KARACHI, Pakistan

A Pakistani court on Thursday granted protective bail to the country's former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in two cases, clearing the way for his planned homecoming after four years on Saturday, court records said.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A Pakistani court on Thursday granted protective bail to the country's former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in two cases, clearing the way for his planned homecoming after four years on Saturday, court records said.

A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq ordered the police not to arrest Sharif until Oct. 24. Sharif was ordered to appear in court on that date.

In a related development, an accountability court in Islamabad suspended Sharif's arrest warrants until Oct. 24 in a case involving the purchase of luxury cars and state gifts.

Sharif flew from jail, where he was languishing after being convicted in a corruption case, to London for “medical treatment” in 2019.

He was then declared an absconder for failing to appear in court.

He was convicted in two corruption cases stemming from the 2016 Panama Papers scandal, but his conviction in one of the cases was suspended by the Islamabad High Court.

His center-right Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party plans to gather one million people at the historic Iqbal Park in Lahore, the capital of Punjab and the former premier's power base on Oct. 21.