PM confers with top aides ahead of foreign trips

Nawaz Sharif to visit Saudi Arabia and China later this month

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday conferred with his top aides to chart out the ruling party’s strategy vis-à-vis the Joint Investigation Team which has started working a day earlier in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict on the Panamagate scandal.

The huddle pored over options amid possibility that the JIT might summon Premier Sharif and his sons, The Express Tribune has learnt. Top cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Chauhdry Nisar Ali Khan, and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique attended the meeting. Party stalwarts Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi, Raja Zafarul Haq and legal wizards of Premier Sharif were also in attendance.

According to sources, Premier Sharif’s upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia and China and Dawn Leaks inquiry report also came up for discussion. One source quoted the prime minister as saying that he was ‘more than willing’ to cooperate with the JIT on ‘every possible way’, including personal appearance before the team.



“The JIT can either summon the prime minister and his sons or seek an explanation from them through their legal counsels about their offshore financial interests. In either scenario, the Sharif family would extend full cooperation to the JIT in compliance with the Supreme Court’s April 20 verdict,” one insider said.

Premier Sharif’s legal team would inform the JIT about the schedule of his foreign visits and related commitments so that arrangements could be made accordingly in case Sharif has to appear before the panel in person.

The JIT – which includes representatives from ISI, MI, NAB, SECP, SBP and FIA – is tasked to complete its investigation within 60 days and submit report.



PM’s visits to Saudi Arabia and China

Saudi Arabia’s Information and Culture Minister Dr Awwad bin Saleh al Awwad called on Premier Sharif on Tuesday and invited him to attend the ‘US-Arab and Islamic’ summit being held in Riyadh later this month. Sources said the prime minister is expected to leave for Saudi Arabia on May 20 to attend the summit.

Some reports suggest that Premier Sharif would meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit, but there was no official confirmation. “A meeting is on the cards but not finalised yet,” one government official told The Express Tribune.

The Saudi information minister, as the special envoy of the custodian of the two holy mosques, extended an invitation to Nawaz Sharif to attend the summit, which he accepted, according to a brief statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.



Prior to his Saudi trip, the prime minister is scheduled to attend one belt moot in China on May 12.