PM Shehbaz Sharif concludes London visit, departs for Islamabad

LONDON: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has departed for Islamabad from Heathrow Airport after concluding his London visit, ARY News reported on Sunday.

PM Shehbaz Sharif departed for Islamabad via a private airline flight from UK’s Heathrow Airport. He arrived at the airport amid special protocol.

The premier will land in Islamabad on Monday morning.

Yesterday, PM Sharif, who was set to leave for Pakistan on Saturday, extended his stay in London for one more day.

After delaying his flight twice, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif rescheduled his flight to Islamabad from London airport at 6 pm on Sunday.

During his stay in London, the premier held several rounds of talks with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif during which key political issues came under discussion.

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This is PM Shehbaz’s third trip to London since he assumed the country’s top office in April and comes ahead of the appointment of the new army chief.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had confirmed on Friday that consultations were held on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) appointment in the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

Reacting to the speculations in the media regarding the army chief’s appointment, Asif confirmed that consultations were held on the COAS appointment, however, the decision was not taken yet.

Asif said that the decision for the COAS appointment will be taken after consultation under the constitutional process.

In October, PM Shehbaz Sharif had said he is ready for talks with the former premier and PTI chairman Imran Khan but ruled out a consultation on the appointment of the COAS.