Gilani cancels visits to Paris and Brussels

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has cancelled visits starting this month to Europe, the foreign ministry said.

“In view of his pre-occupations with the post-flood situation, the Prime Minister has decided not to go ahead with his scheduled visits to Paris and Brussels,” said a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman in a statement.

“(The) Prime Minister's official visit to France is being re-scheduled.”

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will lead Pakistan's delegation to the Asia-Europe summit in Brussels next month, said the statement.

Pakistani leaders have said the government has done its best to help flood victims given its limited resources and have appealed for international aid to help with reconstruction.

Gilani's press secretary, Shabbir Anwar, said he had been scheduled to leave at the end of this month for Paris with a delegation of 40 other officials to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and then travel from there on Oct 1 to Brussels.

Instead Gilani decided to stay behind and the size of the delegation was reduced to save on expenses after the floods.

“This had nothing to do with politics,” Anwar told Reuters. – Reuters