ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and his family members have received passports with British visas and are planning to fly to the UK sometime next week, the party’s central information secretary Siddiqul Farooque said on Saturday.

The PML-N information secretary said that he could confirm that Saudi protocol authorities had handed over some 20 passports with British visas to Mr Sharif, his family members and servants.

He said Mr Sharif was expected to fly to Britain on Dec 24 or 25.

Meanwhile, a source in the party told Dawn that Mr Sharif wanted to pay a farewell call on King Abdullah and other members of the Saudi royal family to thank them for extending hospitality to him during his stay in Saudi Arabia. The meeting is expected to take place in a couple of days.

For the past three weeks Mr Sharif had been waiting to get the UK visa as he had wanted to visit London where his son Hasan was undergoing medical treatment.

The source said that initially Mr Sharif had no plan to take part in political activities, and would focus solely on the treatment of his ailing son.

But, he said, Mr Sharif would definitely meet politicians visiting London to enquire about his son’s health. He said that many local leaders of the party were also planning to visit London following Mr Sharif’s arrival in the city.