INB Monitoring Desk, Apr 23: Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif left for China late on Monday on a five-day “private visit”.
The Sharif family is keeping the visit low-profile.
According to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), its supreme leader left for China by a Chinese Southern Airlines flight on a private visit along with his grandson, Junaid Safdar, and personal staff from the Lahore airport. The PML-N, however, did not disclose Sharif’s plans during his five-day stay in China.
Local media says Sharif will undergo a medical check-up in China and hold meetings with some Chinese companies regarding development projects in Punjab, where his daughter Maryam Nawaz is the chief minister. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is also reportedly accompanying him.
It is also being speculated in the PML-N circles that Sharif might be on a “special assignment” in China.
Sharif never visited China in the past for medical reasons. He went to the United Kingdom on medical grounds in 2019 and stayed there in self-exile, before his return in 2023 after the fall of Imran Khan’s government. His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif is leading a six-party coalition at the Centre.
After his dream of becoming prime minister for a fourth time shattered in the February election, Nawaz Sharif has been keeping a low profile.
