Nawaz to join Shehbaz in KSA

LAHORE: Amid speculations about the possibility of another National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) for Sharif family, ousted prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif is expected to leave for Jeddah on Saturday, following Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s departure to the kingdom in a surprise move on Wednesday.

Senior PML-N leader and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has also left the country on a plane destined for Jeddah.

Although the ruling PML-N is yet to offer a word about the nature of the visit of the elder Sharif, local media reports said this tour of PML-N top brass is linked to the country’s political situation.

Moreover, the meeting between National Security Advisor Nasser Janjua and PML-N president Nawaz Sharif on Thursday also raised eyebrows, but the same was declared a routine matter.

Shehbaz Sharif had left the country on a special plane sent by the royal family following a crucial meeting with Nawaz Sharif.

It is unclear, however, whether the younger Sharif returns alone or with his brother, as the date for his return to Pakistan is not known.

A brief meeting was held between Shehbaz and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday outside Masjid-e-Nabwi in Madina.

The Punjab CM tweeted a picture with Yildrim, saying that the two met at the entrance of Masjid-e-Nabwi.

Shehbaz is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, among other senior Saudi officials, during his visit to the kingdom. Important meetings are expected.

Punjab CM—who had recently been shuttling between Rawalpindi and London to broker ceasefire between the military establishment and Nawaz Sharif—has long been advocating his elder brother and party chief to observe restraint and not to attack the state institutions.

Though no PML-N leader agreed to speak on the record over the sudden departure of Shehbaz, an informed source said that the junior Sharif was making hectic efforts to win support from Saudi Arabia for a safe passage for his family.

The source said that the Saudi government has sent a discreet message to all and sundry by sending a special plane for Shehbaz Sharif—which reflected that the Saudi royals still treated Sharif family as their trusted lieutenants in Pakistan.

The departure, however, set many tongues wagging as Sharif travelled in a special plane sent by the kingdom. Also, the visit came on the heels of his nomination as the PML-N candidate for the prime minister office.

A couple of days ago, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Admiral Nawaf Ahmad Al Maliki, along with envoys of around two dozen countries, had called on the chief minister.

Federal Climate Change Minister Mushahidullah Khan told English daily by phone that various issues of international and national importance would be discussed during the meetings in Saudi Arabia.

It is crucial to mention here that the accountability court has summoned two more witnesses in Sharifs’ graft case, which has been adjourned till Jan 3.

Meanwhile, PML-N’s Tallal Chaudhry said Pakistan enjoyed deep relations with KSA, adding that Sharif family had personal relations with the kingdom.

“Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia was a usual matter,” he maintained.