KARACHI: Newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived on his first official visit to Karachi today, Wednesday, where he was received by Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah.
Sharif will visit Mazar-e-Quaid along with leaders of coalition parties “to reiterate observance of the golden principles of the Founder of the Nation aimed at progress and prosperity of the country,” a statement from his office said.
Main items on the PM’s agenda include a consultative meeting at the Chief Minister House to discuss developmental projects in the port city, the capital of Sindh province.
“Other than that, the prime minister will also hold discussions regarding the law and order situation in Sindh,” Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
Sharif is also expected to visit the headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-P, a main political party in the city, which sided with a joint opposition alliance in a no-confidence vote to oust former Prime Minister Imran Khan last week.
The MQM-P was previously a coalition partner of Khan’s government.
Sharif was elected new prime minister on Monday, vowing to tackle an economic malaise that has seen the rupee hit an all-time low and the central bank implement the biggest hike in interest rates in decades last week.
“Imran Khan has left a critical mess,” Miftah Ismail, who is likely to be Sharif’s finance minister, told a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, adding that suspended talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be resumed on priority.“We will restart talks with the IMF.”

Earlier today, Sharif chaired an emergency meeting on the energy sector in Islamabad, state-run Radio Pakistan said.
“It [meeting] is discussing steps to overcome electricity load shedding and ensure the provision of petroleum products,” said Radio Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by PML (N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbassi and Miftah Ismail as well as officials from the ministries of petroleum and finance.