Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives in Maldives

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Maldives Tuesday afternoon on a three-day visit at the invitation of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

Sharif, accompanied with his wife, was received by President Gayoom at the airport.

The premier will be the chief guest at the celebrations of the 52nd Independence Day of Maldives on Wednesday (tomorrow).

The prime minister will also hold official talks with the Maldivian president during his stay in the state, which is also a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). 

It is understood that the future of SAARC would also come up for discussion besides mutual cooperation of the two 'brotherly countries'.

A number of memoranda of understanding and agreements will be signed during the visit for cooperation in various fields.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz is accompanying the prime minister. 

In a statement, the Foreign Office reminded that diplomatic relations with Maldives, established on July 26, 1966, had grown from strength to strength. Both the countries closely coordinate with each other at regional and international forums on issues of mutual importance.

“The Pakistan-Maldives relationships are marked by close and warm sentiments between people of the two countries,” the Foreign Office stated. “The visit of the prime minister will provide impetus to further strengthen our bilateral relations with the Maldives in all areas, including politics, trade, economy, defence, tourism, education and people to people contacts."

Domestic politics 

On the other hand, the Maldivian army has locked down the country's parliament after the opposition vowed to move ahead on Monday with a vote against the speaker, a key ally of the country’s president.

According to the wire reports, the politicians defied the ban on Monday, fighting off riot police and scaling metre-high walls to enter the Parliament compound. The opposition was hoping to hold a vote to impeach Speaker Abdulla Maseeh, whom they accuse of ignoring allegations of corruption and rights abuses, before the lockdown came into effect. They had secured enough support from government defectors to begin impeachment proceedings earlier this month.

But the ruling party dismissed the motion after Yameen announced that four of the defectors had lost their parliamentary seats due to changing loyalties. 

Ahmed Mahloof, an opposition politician, said soldiers carrying batons followed the members inside on Monday and forcibly ejected them. "Soldiers in riot gear are dragging elected members out from the Parliament," Mahloof told the media. "This is clearly unconstitutional.” Many of us have been injured." Videos posted on social media show soldiers pushing politicians out of the building.

A few appear to have been injured. "There is no better symbol of Yameen's dictatorship than the image of his security forces barring elected MPs from the Parliament.

With additional input from The News story