Shehbaz here today, gone tomorrow

CM to leave for London just days after returning from same city

LAHORE: In an unexpected change of plans, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who only returned from consecutive foreign visits to the United Kingdom and Turkey on September 17, will fly to London again in a few days.

Much of the Sharif family is already in London for various reasons.

Officials close to the Punjab chief minister confirmed he was scheduled to fly to London “soon”, adding they were not sure how long the trip would be.

They speculated that the Punjab CM might return in four or five days and that the purpose of the trip is to “discuss things” with his brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.



Shehbaz’s last visit to London was supposed to be a three-day trip to see his sister-in-law Kulsoom Nawaz, who is being treated for cancer there. That trip ended up lasting for nine days.

Immediately after his return to Pakistan, Shehbaz left for Turkey for a “one-day trip”, which was extended to two days.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government seemed unaware of the CM's planned trip as the energy department had made arrangements for a groundbreaking ceremony for a gas power plant at Hawali Bahadar Shah on Thursday.

According to sources in the PML-N, the Punjab chief minister will convey some important messages to the deposed prime minister regarding the current political scenario in the country.

It is also significant that the reopening of the Hudabiya Paper Mills case has created headaches not only for the family of Nawaz Sharif but that of Shehbaz as well. Shehbaz and his children were not subjects of the Panama Papers probe.

Additionally, Thursday’s court order to make the Justice Baqar Najafi report into the Model Town incident public would only create more issues for the already troubled Sharif family.