ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in London on Saturday to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8.
The Queen ruled the United Kingdom and acted as the head of the Commonwealth realm for over 70 years, making her the longest serving British monarch in history.
According to the British media, the Queen’s funeral would be held at Westminster Abbey in London, where she was also crowned, on Monday, September 19.
The Pakistani prime minister, who is also accompanied by senior cabinet members, would represent his country on the occasion and attend a party meeting in London where the founding leader of his political faction, Nawaz Sharif, has been living since securing a medical bail after being convicted in a corruption reference.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif being received on his arrival in London,” proclaimed a Twitter post shared by his office along with a photo of him stepping out of his plane.
The prime minister was received by Pakistan’s envoy to the United Kingdom Moazam Ali Khan and a special representative of the British foreign secretary at the airport.
After making a brief stopover in London, Sharif will leave for New York where he will attend the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
While the gathering of the world leaders is expected to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis, the prime minister will focus on climate-induced floods in Pakistan that have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced about 33 million.
The Pakistani government has already urged the international community to help it with the rehabilitation activities while pointing out that the climate catastrophe was primarily triggered by developed nations whose economic policies were proving detrimental to the global environment.
