Sharif brothers meet at Jati Umra

Deposed premier also held meetings with Ayaz Sadiq, Saad Rafique and other party leaders

LAHORE: Ahead of the possible reopening of the dormant Hudabiya Paper Mills case, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif met his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his residence at Jati Umra on Saturday to discuss the unfolding political situation in the country.

The Sharif brothers had reportedly developed differences after the deposed premier went on the offensive against key state institutions following the Supreme Court verdict in the Panamagate case.

However, the two appear to have reconciled ahead of the possible reopening of the Hudabiya Paper Mills case which might land the entire Sharif family – including Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz – in trouble.

According to his office, Shehbaz held over an hour-long meeting with his elder brother at his residence. It said that Shehbaz was also likely to meet Sharif on Sunday as well. However, the CM Office sought to downplay the meeting as a weekly family gathering where they have lunch together.



The deposed premier also held meetings with Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and other party leaders. Delimitation of constituencies and general elections were at the heart of the discussion during all these meetings, a source said.

The source said the party has internally geared up to deal with the Panamagate fallouts. They said the party had also been subjected to court trials in its previous tenure so there was nothing new.

According to PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Sharif’s meetings were a routine affair. Various issues of party and politics were discussed in the meeting, he said and sought to clarify that the only public gathering planned by the PML-N was in Abbottabad on November 19 and not on 20.

He said there was no other gathering planned in Multan or any other city.



The railways minister, in a series of tweets, condemned the reopening of Hudabiya Paper Mills case. He said that they would foil the plot of entangling their party leadership in cases and maligning them. “Nobody would benefit from confrontation.”

Similarly, Maryam Nawaz, daughter of the deposed premier, wrote on the popular microblogging site that Sharif’s patience was for the dignity of the country. “If anything hampers the interests of our country, Sharif will not stay silent.”