But will Sharif actually return? Ghous Ali Shah, senior party member of his Pakistan Muslim League, says, “Sharif is a man of firm resolve. Once he’s decided, he will do it, come what may. I am in London to assist him in that. He should be in Lahore on September 10 and I will be here in London, long after he leaves. I have to finish other important work here.”

Late afternoon, Sharif is still meeting people, accepting wishes, and discussing the political situation in Pakistan. The phone keeps ringing, requests for media interviews are pouring in. “I have got so much work to do, wapsi ki tayyari karni hai and this phone keeps ringing,” he says.

In five day from now, maybe Pontis’s will be the only big address left on Duke Street.