London        -        Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday visited former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at his London residence to inquire after the latter’s health.

Karzai was received by Nawaz’s sons, Hussain and Hassan Nawaz, upon his arrival at Avenfield House. The former premier’s brother, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, and his sons were present during the meeting with the former Afghan president. Speaking to reporters outside the residence, Karzai said he was delighted to visit “my brothers his excellency Mian sahib and Shehbaz Sharif sahib”. He added that he had visited to inquire about Nawaz’s health.

“On my visits to Pakistan and on his visits to Afghanistan, he’s been extremely kind. I was happy to see him in good health,” the former Afghan president said.

Nawaz thanked Karzai for visiting him to inquire about his health, party sources said. Shehbaz too took to Twitter to thank Karzai.

“I have always maintained that our sorrows and happiness are shared and the future of Pakistan & Afghanistan is interwoven, challenges notwithstanding,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Shehbaz while talking to media said that his party had taken a “collective” decision after consultations to support the bills pertaining to the tenure of services’ chiefs.

He said it was a fact that there had been no “outrage or protest” from any side when Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government had granted an extension to Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and issued a notification in this regard.

The Supreme Court then directed the parliament to legislate on the matter and “we carried out legislation according to that court verdict and supported the bill,” Shehbaz added.

He noted that past precedents existed when the army chiefs were given extensions in service by the political governments.

Shehbaz said in the current instance the decision to grant the extension was taken by the parliament unlike “past military dictators who extended their tenures themselves”.