Nawaz Sharif likely to leave for Saudi Arabia

Islamabad : Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to leave for Saudi Arabia to meet the dignitaries and perform Umrah.

Sharif, who may depart within next 48 hours, will meet the officials in the kingdom to discuss various gamut of bilateral relationship. The two sides will talk about the cooperation in various fields, reported Dunya News.

On December 17, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) head along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz reached Lahore.

Meanwhile, the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, who is already in Saudi Arabia met the Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim outside the entrance of Masjid-e-Nabwi in Medina.

In reference to the United States' unilateral declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Shahbaz Sharif told the Turkish PM, "Muslims united against the US decision and opposed it. The role of Turkish President Erdogan was exemplary in the matter," the report said.

On that note, the Sharifs did share good relations with the Saudis who had rescued them from former President General Pervez Musharraf (retd) in 2000. The family was hosted by the kingdom during their seven-year exile in Jeddah.

However, the relationship took an ugly turn post Islamabad's denial to lend Riyadh its forces for the Yemen war.