With the arrival of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in London on Sunday and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Fazlur Rehman and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti expected to reach on Monday (today), the British capital has become the hub of the latest developments in the Pakistani political scene.
President Asif Ali Zardari is already in London after extending his stay, owing to the last-minute efforts by the government to bring back the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has recently split with the government.
The MQM has been a hot commodity ever since it waved goodbye to the government, with major political parties jostling to win its support. Shahbaz wasted no time handing out the olive branch to the party, telling reporters at Heathrow Airport on Sunday that all political parties, including the MQM, were invited to be part of a “grand opposition alliance”, a private TV channel reported.
DIALOGUE WITHOUT CONDITIONS: Sharif said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was ready to engage in dialogue with other parties without any conditions. “Pakistan is going through its worst phase and there is a need for all the parties, including the MQM, to put their heads together,” he said. He said it was time to protect the existence of Pakistan, which required practical steps.
Sharif said the purpose of his visit to London was to enhance trade cooperation with the United Kingdom, and denied reports of a possible meeting with MQM chief Altaf Hussain during his visit. “It is all speculation,” he told reporters earlier at the Islamabad airport. Sharif said he would discuss development projects with British officials during his visit, and would also meet British investors and invite them to invest in Pakistan.
Shahbaz is visiting the UK with a delegation that includes Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Education Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, Finance Minister Kamran Michael and several members of the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly. Sanaullah was a last-minute inclusion in the entourage keeping in view the chief minister’s political engagements in the UK, possibly with Altaf Hussain, though officially the PML-N has played down the prospects of any such meeting.
PML-N leader Ishaq Dar and Ahsan Iqbal will join the chief minister in London. He will return to Pakistan on July 6. Before leaving for the UK, Shahbaz said the Punjab government had changed the concept of foreign visits and provincial authorities undertook as little visits during the last three years as possible.
MUSHARRAF TRYING TO PREVENT ALLIANCE: Separately, former president Pervez Musharaf, who enjoys cordial relations with the leadership of the MQM, is reportedly using his influence to prevent the party from forming any opposition alliance that includes the PML-N.
Shahbaz in UK – No permanent enemies in politics, believes ‘N’
