Nawaz Sharif refuses to meet Chaudhry Nisar.

LONDON -- Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has refused to meet former interior minister Chaudhary Nisar after the latter arrived in London last night for a two-week visit to the United Kingdom.

Credible sources have confirmed that Sharif was approached by a mutual acquaintance to consider meeting the former interior minister sometime this week, but the former premier turned down the request.

Sharif is the de-facto chief of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, and Nisar was an important member of his party up until the two had a public falling out over political differences more than a year ago.

Senior PML-N leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar, when asked to comment on the new developments, refused to publicly acknowledge or deny that contact had been made for a meeting between the two leaders.

Sources further claim that Nisar, who is considered a close ally of former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, is not on good terms with his good friend because of the public spat the former interior minister had with Nawaz Sharif.

According to these sources, the former prime minister believes that meeting Nisar would send the wrong message out to his aides who had stood by him in tough times, unlike Nisar.

Rumours are rife that Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar may meet Nisar while he is in London, but this meeting will only happen if Nawaz gives his go-ahead. "PM-N supporters will rebel against leadership if Nisar is accommodated into the party again," a source said.

'Nawaz Sharif is personally not meeting politicians, and focusing only on his health. Mutual friends approached him with the request to consider meeting Nisar to break the ice, but Nawaz Sharif politely declined," the source added.

"Nisar attacked Nawaz Sharif's daughter for no reason and became part of an agenda against his own people. Sharif believes Nisar did everything to damage PML-N and the Sharif family," the source said.

Nisar flew to London with his wife through a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight (PK-785). He is expected to undergo medical examination during the visit and also hold political meetings.

More than a year ago, Nisar had developed differences with Sharif after saying he would never accept Nawaz's daughter, Maryam Nawaz, as a PML-N leader, after Maryam started taking a larger role in politics.

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