Imran Khan may be in trouble soon with army rolling out red carpet for Ex-PM Nawaz Sharif: Media reports

The development came at a time when Pakistan's key opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is all set to take to the streets across the country in an "all-out-protest" against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over the burning issues, including corruption, unemployment, poor economy and rapidly growing inflation.

Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is one of the key players in the oppositions' union.

Sources told CNN-News18 former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been told in a subtle way that he is needed in Pakistan and should come back to the country.

The major development has been reported amid a power tussle between Imran Khan and the country's army, with Sharif planning to pave the exit route for Imran Khan who has fallen out of favour, according to the channel.

Citing sources, the Indian media outlet reported the return of Nawaz Sharif will be a big jolt to Imran Khan as he would then have no option but to resign.

"Two options have been presented before Imran Khan— he either resigns on his own before Nov 20, or the opposition brings an in-house change in the Pak Parliament— and in both cases, Khan is going," CNN-News18 said in its exclusive report.

Quoting sources, CNN-News18 reported ruling PTI will lose its political allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim Leage-Quaid (PML-Q) in the coming week.

The news channel said PTI's Parvez Khattak and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif are probable names for the Pak Prime Ministerial post.

Ex-PM Shariff, who was convicted in two corruption cases— Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia Steel Mills- was declared a proclaimed offender by the Islamabad High Court in Dec, 2019, after he had failed to appear before the court with regard to other cases against him.

An accountability court in Pakistan had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years imprisonment in 2018 for owning assets beyond his known sources of income and one year for not cooperating with the probe of the Avenfield case.

Meanwhile, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case in the same year where the ex-PM's illegal investments were discovered.

Both the sencenses in Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases were to run concurrently.

Nawaz Sharif left Pakistan in Nov, 2019 after the Lahore High Court had granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for medical treatment, and he has been living in London since then.

According to CNN-News18, triggering a controversy, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Justice Rana M Shamim filed a sworn affidavit in which he declared that he had witnessed the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, had ordered a High Court judge that Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz should not be released on bail prior to the 2018 general elections in the country.

The media outlet reported quoting sources close to Nawaz Sharif that the affidavit was possibly filed only after the consent of the army and the move suggests that the ex-PM was possibly framed.