In a unique coincidence, caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro, Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool and former PM Mian Nawaz Sharif will be together in Saudi Arabia on February 3.
The caretaker PM and the Punjab governor will be flying from Islamabad to Yemen. They have a two-day hectic schedule there. The delegation will be meeting the Yemeni leadership, including the PM, the president and the head of the Majlis-e-Shoora. The delegation will leave for Jeddah on Saturday evening. As per official agenda, the delegation will be meeting top businessmen and investors, including the firm setting up a steel mill in Karachi. The delegation will be returning at 4:00 am on Monday. This is the official itinerary.
Interestingly, Governor Khalid Maqbool’s visit to China was cancelled on Thursday. The notification to this effect was issued by the Federal Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on the same day. Since the governor’s visit to China was personal, he had applied for leave to the ministry. The notification referred to the cancellation of the governor’s leave from February 1 to 3. The governor rushed to Islamabad for taking the flight on Friday.
Incidentally, Mian Nawaz Sharif will also be around in Jeddah on Sunday, February 3. The former PM will be flying to Saudi Arabia in a day or so and will be in Jeddah on February 3. Kulsoom Nawaz will also fly from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia on the same dates.
Political circles attach significance to the last-minute inclusion of the Punjab governor in PM’s trip because of his proximity to the president. Sources in the government said this hurriedly planned visit of the caretaker PM and Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool had very important political agenda too. It is learnt the top Pakistani officials are expected to have marathon meetings with the leadership of PML-N, with the Saudis as their hosts. This rendezvous has surely been arranged by the hosts, and important political matters are expected to come under discussion. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s proposal of establishing a national government might also be ‘touched’.
When contacted, Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool denied any ‘date’ with Mian Nawaz Sharif during their high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia. He, however, said the government had been endeavouring hard for reconciliation at a time when Pakistan was faced with multiple challenges, He also said the government had succeeded in tackling the issues like shortage of wheat and power. The war on terror had also met some successes. He added it was high time the politicians pooled in their efforts in handling all the issues in a better manner. Khalid Maqbool said the visit was aimed at furthering Pakistan’s economic and ‘political’ interests.
The PML-N leaders also denied the possibility of a contact between the government and Mian Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia. The Lahore High Court chief justice, meanwhile, would be sworn in as acting governor today (Friday).