ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif landed in Islamabad early on Monday after concluding a “private visit” to London to attend a flurry of family meetings with disgraced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children to discuss the appointment of the new army chief, among other political matters.
The prime minister, who was scheduled to land in Islamabad on Friday night, changed his plans and decided to stay on in the British capital, with his party blaming the development on an unspecified sickness.
The news was also confirmed by Marriyum Aurangzeb, Sharif’s minister for information, who said the prime minister had extended his stay in the European country for a day.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif, minister for defence, who traveled with the prime minister but reportedly was not present during the meeting, confirmed the development on Geo News on Thursday. “Everything will become clear in the coming few days,” he told the TV station.
The junior Sharif had reached London on Wednesday after attending the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt.
This was Sharif’s third trip to London after assuming the nation’s top office in April and came ahead of the all-important appointment of the successor to Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa who is due to retire on November 29.
