Islamabad [Pakistan], December 26 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's likely return has intensified the political environment posing further challenges to the Imran Khan government.

Amid the country's already tense political environment with the government and Opposition defending their viewpoints, a new heated debate has erupted over the rumours of PML-N supremo and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's possible return to Pakistan ahead of the next general elections, according to Geo TV.

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Imran Khan's government has faced challenges and his own popularity is on the wane with the recent reverses for his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Earlier, PML-N President, who is also Nawaz's brother, Shahbaz Sharif categorically said that Nawaz will not return until he has fully recovered.

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In a statement issued Saturday, Shahbaz said that Nawaz might stay in the United Kingdom legally until the immigration tribunal rules on his appeal against the British Home Office's rejection for extending his visa.

"It is inhuman to do politics on the health of a three-time premier. The government machinery is bent upon defaming Sharif for its politics, which is earning a bad name to the country," he said.

"Nawaz Sharif will only return [to Pakistan] after full recovery and doctors in London allowed him to travel back home," he added.

Meanwhile, PML-N Vice President and Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz, in a tweet, said the visa issue had again proved how her father was on the nerves of the Khan government members

"This fake government has accepted its defeat from Nawaz Sharif who is the present and future of Pakistan. By targeting a towering personality, the stature of a pygmy cannot be elevated," she tweeted.

Earlier, Ayaz Sadiq, another PML-N stalwart, claimed that Nawaz Sharif was returning soon as the time of justice had arrived for him. Sadiq's claim stirred the political scenario, as he has just got back home after meeting Nawaz Sharif in London, according to Geo TV. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)