LONDON: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, instead of reaching back to Islamabad from Egypt, suddenly arrived in London Tuesday night. According to sources, this is unusual visit and he will closely consult a number of issues with his elder brother and party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif.
Shedding the light on issues probably to be discussed and which are being confronting including current political turmoil in view of PTI’s long march, nomination of new Army chief, law & order situation and apprehension of imposition of martial law. He is likely stay in London for two days.
Shehbaz Sharif arrived in London on a private visit via a private flight
after concluding his two-day trip to Egypt where he attended the COP27 climate conference.
With PML-N supremo and elder brother Nawaz Sharif residing in London since November 2019 and the party’s vice-president, Maryam Nawaz joining her father in October, the premier’s trip to the metropolis has given rise to speculation that important decisions would be made during the visit.
This is PM Shehbaz’s third trip to London since he assumed the country’s top office in April and comes ahead of the appointment of the new army chief, with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure set to end on November 29.
This is the prime minister’s second visit to the city since September where he had met with Nawaz a day after arriving in London to attend the state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
After the prime minister’s previous visit, Ishaq Dar had taken over as Pakistan’s finance minister again in a desperate move by the bigwigs of the PML-N not only to revive the country’s faltering economy but to regain its lost political capital ahead of the next general elections.
The minister’s return to office was at the time expected to pave the way for the return of Nawaz Sharif. However, the much anticipated stability that had been eagerly sought by the PML-N remains yet to be established.
The PM and the PML-N chief are also expected to discuss rival party chief Imran Khan’s march toward the capital as well.