ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: Former prime minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday paid a “farewell call” on President Pervez Musharraf before his departure for London on Sunday, sources told Dawn.

He discussed with the president the political and economic situation, with particular reference to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

During the hour-long meeting, President Musharraf lauded the contribution of Mr Aziz for strengthening the country’s economy, first as finance minister and then as prime minister. He thanked the president for his support during the last eight years.

The former premier is leaving the country for the first time after relinquishing his office on Nov 15 and, according to sources, he would stay in his apartment in London for some time.

From London, the sources said, Mr Aziz would go to Davos, Switzerland, in the last week of the current month to attend the World Economic Forum in his “personal capacity”.

The former prime minister is neither contesting the Feb 18 elections nor is he running the poll campaign of his Pakistan Muslim League-Q.

The sources said there was a possibility that Mr Aziz would not return to the country before the elections.