Abbasi to leave for private US visit on 14th

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will be leaving for the US on a five-day private visit on Wednesday.

Reliable sources told the special central reporting cell of The News that Abbasi was so busy since assuming the office that he had never taken a leave and worked on Saturday and Sunday too.

He will depart for Pennsylvania where his younger sister, Afshan Abbasi, will be undergoing an operation in two days after his arrival. He will look after his sister himself at the hospital. Afshan Abbasi, 56, is a renowned doctor there.

It is expected that the prime minister’s another sister Senator Saadia Abbasi will alsoleave for the US after her Senate engagements. She will have to apply for a visa after surrendering her American nationality. The issuance of a visa will take some time due to which she will not be able to be with her sister on the day of operation.

Sources said the premier will travel by a commercial plane and bear all the expenses from his own pocket. The minimum personal staff will travel with him. In his absence, the federal cabinet will look after all the affairs while Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif will oversee the necessary assignments. The Pakistan Embassy in the US says Abbasi will be on a private visit due to which there will be no official protocol for him. He is expected to get back next Sunday.