[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/66169343 w=670&h=450]
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and prime minister-in-waiting, Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday evening met his political foe at the hospital to soften up pre-election bitterness.
Sharif presented a flower bouquet to Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore.
The cricket legend-turned politician had sustained injuries on his head and back when he fell off the lifter during a public rally in Lahore last week.
Speaking to media representatives after the meeting, Nawaz Sharif said the meeting took place in “good environment.”
“Hopefully he will resume his work soon. Thanks to God he is safe and well, and I’m happy he is recovering,” he said.
“We both emphasized on forgetting all bitterness that existed among our ranks……I congratulated Mr Khan on bagging many seats in the elections,” said the PML-N chief.
There should be a friendly cricket match between us now, said the joyful Nawaz. He said that he will meet the PTI chief again once he recovers fully from his injuries.
“We all want progress and prosperity of Pakistan.”
On a query regarding JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s reservations on poll results, he said, “We respect mandate of all political parties and they should do the same.”
Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz had issued sympathetic statements to their competitor in Punjab immediately following the incident. They prayed for swift recovery of Khan.
The PML-N chief, in rare goodwill gesture, had also asked his party workers to immediately halt the media advertisements against Imran Khan. Sharif’s party had suspended its electioneering for a day as well.
Despite bagging enough national and Punjab seats to form governments on his own, the PML-N chief had announced to accommodate all political forces including PTI and MQM for the larger interest of the country.