PM, deputy PM to attend UN General Assembly

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar will be in the United States on September 25, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will consider Pakistan’s case for a $7bn bailout package in its executive board meeting in Washington.

Well-placed official sources told The News here Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Dar will be at the United Nations headquarters in New York to attend the UN General Assembly where the prime minister will address the summit on September 26.

The premier and his brief entourage would travel by commercial flight as a measure of austerity. He will have an overnight stay in London. Shehbaz would have several important meetings on the sidelines of the UN summit. He has been invited to the reception to be hosted by US President Joe Biden on the inaugural day of the General Assembly meeting. The sources indicated that Shehbaz would have a longer stay in London on his return. He would also go for his regular medical checkup there. He would likely be reaching home in the first week of October. Dar would stay in New York till the first week of October. He will chair and attend meetings of some special contact groups and committees, including one on Kashmir, the sources added.