ISLAMABAD: After a prolonged period of estrangement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on Friday to express condolences over the death of his sister, according to an official press release.
The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) conveyed that Mr. Sharif extended his deep sorrow over the loss and offered prayers for the deceased.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accompanied the prime minister during the visit, which took place at Mr. Khan’s residence.
Chaudhary Nisar, once a key leader of PML-N, broke away from the party in 2018 after an association spanning over 34 years. At the time, he explained his decision was made “according to his conscience,” stating, “I have been part of the PML-N for a long time. I do politics of honour, not of power.”
He subsequently ran in the 2018 elections as an independent candidate for four national and provincial assembly seats in Rawalpindi, after criticizing the party’s choice to award tickets to what he termed “political orphans.”
Media reports suggest that after his split from PML-N, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attempted to bring him into their fold, but he refused despite his “personal relations” with the party’s founder, Imran Khan.
On the same day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also visited the residence of Islamabad Inspector General of Police, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, to offer condolences on the passing of his mother. The PMO’s press release quoted him saying, “The grief of losing a beloved mother stays with the bereaved forever.”
