<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ex-PM had only returned on Tuesday; \u2018N\u2019 leader says issues \u2018that can\u2019t be discussed over the phone\u2019 on the table
\u2022 Maryam holds meeting with uncle, will also arrive in UK today by separate flight for pre-planned visit<\/p>\n
LONDON \/ LAHORE: Merely 48 hours after he returned to the country from the UK, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is heading back to London today (Thursday), a development that has raised many eyebrows.<\/p>\n
The former prime minister left London earlier in the week after spending several weeks<\/a> here, but upon reaching Lahore, made a sudden plan to return in order to have a face-to-face meeting with his elder brother, party supremo Nawaz Sharif.<\/p>\n His visit will coincide with the London trip of party vice-president Maryam Nawaz, who is expected to land in London just before her uncle arrives, on a separate flight.<\/p>\n Party insiders said on Wednesday that the two leaders would hold an \u201cimportant huddle\u201d with Nawaz Sharif regarding his planned return to Pakistan.<\/p>\n Sources told Dawn<\/em> the former PM is returning to discuss important matters with his elder brother, adding that there are \u201cimportant discussions regarding the return of Nawaz\u201d that must take place in person.<\/p>\n A party insider said the discussions are going to be about the prevailing political situation, as well as the party\u2019s plan for the upcoming general election.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously it is something urgent that cannot be discussed over the phone,\u201d the party leader said, on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Another party insider told Dawn<\/em> that Shehbaz Sharif had also held a one-on-one meeting with Maryam Nawaz in Lahore on Wednesday, where matters related to the elder Sharif\u2019s return were discussed.<\/p>\n They also discussed the situation arising out of the reopening of accountability cases against him and other members of the Sharif family in the light of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to strike down the NAB amendments, and legal implications they could face in its aftermath.<\/p>\n Sources say the question of who would be the party\u2019s pick for the PM\u2019s slot in the next government was also on the table.<\/p>\n Unlike Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s rushed return, Maryam Nawaz\u2019s trip to the United Kingdom holds no surprises, as the party had already announced she was headed there to sort out her daughter\u2019s admission, and see her father.<\/p>\n A party insider said Maryam\u2019s trip was scheduled long ago and was for family reasons, adding that it will be a short trip as Nawaz wants her to return to Pakistan and make preparations ahead of his planned arrival on October 21.<\/p>\n The former premier\u2019s return to London comes as a surprise to many, even within the party. The party chief had already spent nearly a month in London for his medical check-ups, as well as holding discussions with his elder brother.<\/p>\n It was Shahbaz who, flanked by Nawaz, told reporters<\/a> outside Stanhope House that the elder Sharif is set to return to Pakistan on October 21. The brothers held several discussions with each other during his last trip, with other party members also dropping in. In recent weeks, Mohammad Zubair, Abid Sher Ali and Khawaja Asif have all met Nawaz in London, and conveyed their messages surrounding the plan for Nawaz\u2019s return.<\/p>\n Sources said that in order for his return to go smoothly, the elder Sharif needed to secure protective bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills<\/a> case.<\/p>\n However, he would have to surrender before the court in the Al-Azizia case<\/a>, in which he was convicted for seven years and was serving his sentence at Kot Lakhpat Jail before he was allowed to leave the country on \u2018medical grounds\u2019 in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWill NAB oppose Nawaz\u2019s protective bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case\u2026 this remains to be seen when the party chief applies for it ahead of his planned return,\u201d the insider said, adding that the Sharifs were looking for \u2018certain guarantees\u2019 to be in place before Nawaz\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n