Pakistan: Asif Zardari to meet Nawaz Sharif in London, say sources

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 23 (ANI): Former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari will meet Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) premiere Nawaz Sharif in London, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to sources with PPP, the former president will soon leave Dubai for London on a two-day visit but the visit can be extended further.
Sources said that the Zardari-Nawaz meeting is a continuation of the early meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Both the leaders will discuss matters related to the dissolution of assemblies, caretaker setup, and the name of the caretaker prime minister candidate.

Last week, former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House.

The prime minister received both leaders on their arrival, a PM Office statement said. In the meeting, they discussed the overall political situation in the country.

It is pertinent to mention here that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that assemblies will dissolve in August after the completion of their tenure. He said that the preparation for the elections have been commenced and the assemblies will dissolve in August.

He stated PDM led government had the choice to dissolve assemblies immediately but it would have deepened the economic crisis and Pakistan would have defaulted 14 months ago.

The return of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan appears to be unlikely while his brother Shehbaz Sharif is the Prime Minister as the ruling coalition government’s term is almost up, The Express Tribune reported.

Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and PML-N leader, will travel from Saudi Arabia to London, while Maryam Nawaz will return to Pakistan in a few days, according to Muhammad Zubair, a spokesman for the Sharif family.

Nawaz will be returning to London, where he has been residing since 2019 under the pretence of receiving treatment.

Nawaz would be departing for London in a few days, according to Zubair, who was unable to specify an exact time.

Asked when Nawaz would return, he responded that Asif had claimed the party chief would do so after September 16 and that the rest was simple to calculate, making reference to Chief Justice Bandial’s retirement.

The PML-N senior vice president would return to Pakistan in “a few days,” Maryam’s political secretary added. Earlier in the month, a PML-N source told The Express Tribune that Nawaz was delaying his trip back to Pakistan due to the plethora of legal disputes that would be waiting for him there.