LAHORE - Before leaving for London for medical treatment Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he would be back home after 4/5 days.
He flew to London yesterday along with his spouse Begum Kalsoom Nawaz, children and two personal servants.
The PM and his family would reach London en route Moscow which the officials say, purports a short rest in the Russian capital before he would undertake further travelling. Previously the prime minister’s route to London was set via Rome which later on altered to Moscow where the PM stay is eight-hour long.
Prior to leaving for London, the PM also presided over an informal sitting of the senior ministers and his personal staff wherein he passed necessary directions particularly about maintenance of law and order.
The PM, who is facing some cardiac problem over the last two/three months, will undergo checkup in London on Thursday.
Amid pressure being built by the PTI on the Panama Leaks issue wherein the name of his three children have been mentioned, speculations are rife that the purpose of the PM’s visit to London is to meet Asif Zardari. The impression gained force after PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan claimed the sole object of the PM’s visit is to see Zardari.
PM’s spokesman has categorically denied assertion of the PPP and says the medical checkup is the only objective of the PM’s London visit. The spokesman said the medical checkup of the premier was long overdue as his official duties and engagements did not allow him to undertake it.
Media reports say the prime minister has appointed his close confidant and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to take care of things and the situation in his absence.