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| November 11, 2005 | Friday | Shawwal 8, 1426 |
Political leadership to converge on London in few weeks
ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: London would be the centre of political activities in the next few days, as a number of leading politicians, both from the government and opposition, are planning to visit the city for various reasons.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has convened a joint meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) and the Federal Council (FC) on November 27 and some 35 to 40 senior PPP leaders, including parliamentarians, have already got their seats booked for London.
Besides members of the CEC and the FC, Ms Bhutto has also invited senior party leaders to attend the meeting. Prominent among those visiting the UK are ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Opposition Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Farhatullah Babar, PPP Secretary-General Jahangir Badar, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Nawab Mohammad Yusuf Talpur, Sherry Rehman, former interior minister Maj-Gen (retd) Nasirullah Babar and all the four provincial presidents.
On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family members are also preparing to leave Saudi Arabia for London in the next few days after getting passports on Wednesday.
Though Nawaz Sharif is primarily going to the UK for the treatment of his son, Hassan Nawaz, political circles believe that both Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto will take advantage of their presence in the same city and definitely hold a meeting. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and former Sindh chief minister Syed Ghous Ali Shah are already in London.
Acting parliamentary leader of the PML-N in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is also expected to accompany Nawaz Sharif from Jeddah to London.
Meanwhile, there are reports that former prime ministers Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will also be visiting the UK in the next few days.
Our Reporter adds: A PPP legislator has asked the government to immediately suspend mega projects, like construction of a new GHQ in Islamabad and purchase of planes from Sweden, and to divert the money for rehabilitation work in the earthquake-hit areas of the NWFP and Azad Kashmir.
In a statement here on Thursday, Naheed Khan, MNA and political secretary to PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, said it was very unfortunate that the regime after failing to provide swift relief to the victims, had been refusing to cut down its non-productive expenses and mitigate the sufferings of the affected people.
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