Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked his aides to devise a plan for the return of his predecessor Nawaz Sharif and also urged Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders to foil all moves of the opposition to destabilise the incumbent government.

An informed source told Dawn news that Khan issued the directives while presiding over the first meeting of a committee recently formed to counter the narrative of the opposition.

The source added that Khan was committed to bringing back Sharif from London and has directed the committee members to devise a legal strategy because in the absence of an extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK, it would become difficult to get the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo extradited.

Last week, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Shahzad Akbar told Dawn that he had written fresh letters to the British authorities for Sharif's repatriation, adding that a formal application had also been sent for his extradition.

The source further said the committee would meet on a daily basis and make day-to-day plans on how to counter the opposition's moves in Parliament, media and on political forums.

Sharif has been targeting the incumbent government in his speeches from London, where he has been residing since last year following his bail for medical treatment.

Sharif first spoke at the multiparty conference on September 20, where he declared that the opposition was up not against Prime Minister Khan but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

(IANS)