Shehbaz Sharif refuses to meet Bilawal Bhutto citing 'health concerns': sources

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday refused to meet Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari citing health issues, ARY NEWS reported citing sources.

Bilawal Bhutto, who is visiting Lahore, approached the PML-N president and expressed his desire to meet him for holding a long-awaited multi-party conference of the opposition parties.

However, Shehbaz Sharif refused to meet him citing his health issues, the sources said.

Instead, a PML-N delegation comprising of Ayaz Sadiq, Ahsan Iqbal, and Khawaja Saad Rafique, will meet Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, they said adding that the meeting will take place tomorrow at 12:00 noon at Bilawal House Lahore.

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier on July 07, cracks started to appear between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderships after the latter showed no interest in mounting pressure on the incumbent federal government, ARY NEWS reported citing sources.

According to sources, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has left Lahore after a week-long visit and during the stay, several attempts were made to make contact with the PML-N leadership.

“The PML-N leadership did not give a satisfactory response to the approaches made by the PPP,” they said.

The sources said that the opposition had suggested holding a multi-party conference before the passage of federal Budget 2020-21. “The PML-N did not respond to the suggestion and even their lawmakers remained absent during budget debate,” they said.

Sources close to the PPP leadership said that since Shehbaz Sharif is the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, he should have led the charge against the government during the budget debate.

The former ruling party in the Punjab province seems uninterested in mounting pressure on the incumbent government, they said.