Junaid Safdar set to get 'engaged within Sharif family circle'

LONDON: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s son, Junaid Safdar, is set to get engaged in Lahore to the granddaughter of one of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif’s first cousins.

Three family sources told Geo News that Junaid’s marriage has been finalised with the daughter of Usman Javed, 48, who is the son of Javed Shafi -- a first cousin of Nawaz Sharif.

Sources said the families — including Nawaz, Maryam, and Javed Shafi — met on Wednesday at the former's residence in Model Town, where the formalities were finalised.

“The rishta has been settled and the engagement will follow soon. The families will mutually decide the dates for the nikah and engagement ceremony,” one source shared.

This will be Junaid Safdar’s second marriage. He was previously married to Ayesha Saif, daughter of Qatar-based businessman Saifur Rehman Khan. The two were married in London in 2021 at The Lanesborough in Knightsbridge while Nawaz Sharif was in exile. The couple amicably divorced in October 2023.

Junaid returned to Pakistan from London in the same month to assist his mother in her political responsibilities.

A Cambridge graduate, Junaid holds two bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from prestigious UK universities. He completed a master’s in International Relations from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2020, and another in Global Governance and Ethics from University College London (UCL).

Earlier, he earned a first-class honours degree in Politics from Durham University, and later graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2022.

Junaid is also a keen polo enthusiast and has won several competitions representing British universities.