PM Shahbaz Sharif’s stay in London extended

LONDON: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has extended his stay in the UK for another day for consultations with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Geo News reported Friday.

The prime minister, along with key cabinet members belonging to his party, are holding meetings with Nawaz Sharif in London for the last two days over the ongoing political and economic crisis and the way forward.

Senior PML-N leaders and federal ministers including Miftah Ismail, Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Khawaja Asif are accompanying the premier.

The delegation arrived in the UK on May 11 and it was initially a two-day visit that has been now been extended.

Sources told Geo News that the delegation will continue discussions over national issues and seek Nawaz Sharif’s counsel to solve them.

The PML-N leadership had a three-hour-long meeting a day ago chaired by the party supremo.

One of the most important and difficult questions for the PML-N is to decide when they will end subsidies on petroleum products and shift the burden of high prices on the masses which is a big political risk.

Another key issue for the new regime is to decide the timings for the new elections amid rising pressure from the PTI to hold early polls.

The main coalition partner and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, however, categorically stated that the new elections should be held after electoral reforms but some of the PML-N leaders are in favour of holding early elections.