LAHORE: Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani called on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at his Jati Umra residence on Wednesday to discuss investment opportunities and mutual relationship. The Qatari royal lauded Pakistan`s economic policies and said these had driven Qatari investments to Pakistan,appreciating the country`s businessfriendly environment.

Mr Sharif thanked the visiting dignitary for investments in power projects at a time when Pakistan was f acing an energy crisis, while Jassim bin Hamad appreciated how all projects were carried out hassle-free while Mr Sharif was in office The royal, who arrived at the head of a 13-member delegation in L ahore earlier in the day, also met Shahbaz Sharif in Model Town, where he assured the Punjab chief minister that Qatar would invest in health and education projects.

The Sharif family has long-standing business and personal relations with the Al-Thani f amily.

Former Ehtesab Bureau chairman Saifur Rehman was also part of theQatari delegation.

The royal flew to Karachi around mid-day, where he attended the inauguration by Prime Minister Shahid Khagan Abbasi of two power plants at Port Qasim. Later, he flew back to Qatar.

One unit of the 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power plant at Port Qasim project has been jointly sponsored by Chinese and Qatari firms and the royal was invited to attend the inauguration ceremony.

Confusion prevailed around the identity of the visiting Qatari dignitary all day, as TV channels kept confusing Jassim bin Hamad the visiting dignitary with former Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim, who was the author of the `Qatari letter` submitted to the Supreme Court by ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case.

Even Sharif`s arch-rival, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was taken in: when asked about the arrival of the Qatari royal during a press conference in the capital, Mr Khan said the prince had refused to appear before the Supreme Court and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), but was happy to visit in connection with the inauguration of `the LNG project at Port Qasim`.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed also slammed the PML-N government for according state protocol to the Qatari royal, who was a `facilitator` in the Sharif family`s money laundering activities.

The confusion apparently stemmed f rom a Foreign Of fice letter, which erroneously stated that former Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim would arrive in Lahore on Nov 29.

Critics of the PML-N government believe that Jassim bin Hamad`s visit to Pakistan was to make a deal on Port Qasim.