Special Correspondent
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday met with his elder brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif at his London residence to discuss the political and economic situation of the country as some ‘major decisions’ are on the cards according to insiders.
Nawaz warmly greeted Shehbaz as the latter arrived at the former’s residence in the United Kingdom capital.
PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Miftah Ismail, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Khawaja Asif, Shahid Khaqan Abbsi and Khawaja Saad Rafique were also present on the occasion.
The premier had left for London the night before, heading the high-level PML-N delegation. The party leadership is expected to take tough decisions on subsidy on petroleum prices, gauge the impact of heading a coalition government on the party; and mull over the timing of holding fresh elections among other things.
Earlier, after a cabinet meeting chaired by Shehbaz, the government’s spokesperson said the purpose of the visit was consultation on key issues facing the country which, she stressed, was not an unusual process in political parties.
Sources said that the top agenda item of the meeting would be the discussion on either to continue giving subsidy on the petroleum products or jack up the rates and face a backlash from the people, who are already feeling the heat of the high inflation.
They added that increasing the petroleum prices was also a pre-condition for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and the option to keep the prices capped for a long time was not looking feasible.
Nevertheless, the decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz to visit the party supremo in London has already given ammunition to Imran, who was quick to lament that it was an insult to Pakistan that the prime minister and cabinet members were going to attend a meeting in London on public money, summoned by an “absconder”.
However, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal was quick to counter the claim. He tweeted that the delegation was not utilising public money as everyone had purchased tickets from their own pockets and personally made arrangements for their stay in London. “This itself is enough to prove Imran Niazi [is] a liar,” he added.
Apart from deliberating on the timing of the next general elections, the sources said, the upcoming budget, relationship with the allies, economy, energy and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects were other key items on the agenda of the London meeting.
The visit of the prime minister and the senior PML-N leaders is taking place on the heels of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s back-to-back meetings with Nawaz in London last month before he took oath as the foreign minister.