ISLAMABAD: In her first meeting with the opposition leader in National Assembly, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott described the meeting on Wednesday as ‘a private discussion’, signalling a quiet but notable engagement across the political divide.
Marriott, speaking briefly to reporters outside Parliament House after the meeting, said her visit to Parliament was simply to meet political leaders. When pressed on specifics, she stuck to diplomatic shorthand: “It was a private discussion.”
The meeting, held in Achakzai’s chamber, came months after he assumed the role of opposition leader with backing from the opposition PTI, following guidance from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
In a statement on X, Tehreek-e-Tahffuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of opposition parties led by Achakzai, noted that talks covered ‘matters of mutual interest between Pakistan and the UK’, regional stability, and the economic ripple effects of fluctuations in global oil prices.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026