ISLAMABAD, May 25: Chief of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif will take a party delegation to Nawabshah on Thursday (today) to offer condolences to President Asif Ali Zardari over the death of the president’s father, Hakim Ali Zardari.

This was disclosed by opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan during an informal chat with reporters here on Wednesday.

He, however, said that he would himself not be accompanying his party chief during the visit to Nawabshah.

This will be the first direct contact between the heads of the two major parties and arch rivals of the past five months.

Previously they came face-to-face, also on an apolitical occasion, during a state banquet hosted by President Zardari for visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the Presidency in December.

Mr Zardari had phoned Mr Sharif to personally invite him for the dinner.

Though, Mr Sharif is visiting Nawabshah solely to offer condolences to the president, political experts see it as an important development.