Internews/Astana
The residents of Kazakhstan’s capital Astana were pleasantly surprised yesterday evening when they saw Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif walking on the roadside of the city without any protocol and security.
It so happened that after the prime minister had had dinner with his counterpart Karim Massimov at Rixon Hotel, Sharif came out to see off the Kazakh prime minister. Some members of the entourage were also with him.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also staying in the same hotel.
When he stepped out of the hotel into the chilled air of the Kazakh capital, Sharif’s mood visibly relaxed after a long and hectic day of back-to-back meetings and consultations.
When he saw the majestic highrise buildings of the newly built capital of Kazakhstan around the hotel he paused to watch them.
The Kazakh foreign minister who was deputed as his minister-in-waiting was accompanying PM Nawaz while members of the entourage, including State Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Special Assistant to PM for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Chairman BOI Miftah Ismail, Secretary Commerce Shahzad Arbab, Chief of Protocol Tasawar Khan, MS to PM Brigadier Akmal Aziz, JS to PM Kamran Ali Afzal, PSO to PM Barrister Nabeel Awan, CSO to PM Mohamed Zeeshan Raza., Press Secretary Naeem Khan, Pakistan’s envoy here Abdul Saalik Khan, and accompanying newsmen were also with him.
The prime minister who took keen interest in the structure and colours used in the construction of the buildings put searching questions to the Kazakh minister-in-waiting about the structures and material used in them.
To a question he hoped that Pakistan will also have the prosperity and luck as this country is enjoying. He assured that the amount that he has sanctioned for improvement of Islamabad as capital city would be used in a judicious manner as he would personally monitor it.
As cars, buses and motorcyclists buzzed by, Prime Minister Sharif stepped onto the pavement of the main road of the capital and walked up to the city centre, covering a distance of more than 4km in about 40 minutes.
Sharif indulged in light chat during the walk.
The prime minister agreed with another questioner that D Chowk Islamabad should be thrown open for the common man to come there and enjoy.
He also endorsed the proposal to stage flag-hoisting on Independence Day in front of Parliament House instead of inside the building.
To a question by a newsman the prime minister revealed that his wife used to walk from Murree to Shangla Galli, covering the distance in four hours. “I missed those days,” he said.
The prime minister said he had planned to enhance the capacity of Murree to accommodate more tourists and for the purpose a gigantic plan is being worked out. A high level meeting has been convened on September 1 where the proposal would be discussed, he said.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif review an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony in Astana yesterday
