PM Shehbaz briefs Nawaz on AJK deal

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Jati Umra on Saturday to meet his elder brother, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, for a weekly meeting that is part of the Sharif family tradition.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, Shehbaz briefed Nawaz on his recent foreign visits and provided a detailed update on the situation in Azad Kashmir, including the outcome of successful negotiations there.

If the official handout is to be believed, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was not part of that family meeting — an evident break from the long-held family tradition, which, however, is becoming the new normal following the formation of her provincial government.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had just returned from a highly successful visit to the United States, is scheduled to depart again today for a two-day official visit to Malaysia on the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Ibrahim had also extended an invitation to Nawaz; however, he declined, stating that he would consider taking up the invitation at a more suitable time, while expressing gratitude for the offer. The party spokesperson was contacted for clarification on the matter but was not available for comment.

Another noteworthy development was Nawaz Sharif's quiet return from his Europe-UK tour, undertaken on the pretext of medical treatment.

Nawaz had left some three weeks earlier for cervical pain. Speculations were rife that Nawaz had returned with the prime minister on his plane from London, as Shehbaz also made a stopover in London—home to the Sharif family's second residence—on his way back.