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Islamabad: The reported meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and former premier Benazir Bhutto in UAE on Friday has stirred a political storm in the country as political parties flayed Benazir for meeting a military ruler at this crucial juncture.
Minister for Railways Shaikh Rashid Ahmad yesterday confirmed the meeting between the president and Benazir. He said they "held a successful meeting" in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
He would not elaborate on the discussions between the two leaders, but said that "hopefully" Benazir's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would support Musharraf in an forthcoming presidential vote.
Pakistani television and newspapers reported yesterday that Friday's meeting between the two leaders lasted about one hour and ended without an agreement.
Those reports come amid intense speculation that General Musharraf, is also armed forces chief, would seek Benazir as an ally in his plans to be reappointed president by legislators for another term.
'No knowledge'
The PPP leaders were confused in their response as the majority denied having knowledge of such meeting. Dr Baber Awan told Gulf News that the government's informal contacts with the PPP were not secret but as far as this reported meeting was concerned, "it's not to my knowledge".
The leaders of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) told Gulf News yesterday that the meeting in the UAE had not come as a surprise for them, as Benazir had already admitted to her parleys with the government during last several years.
They warned that any party brokering a deal with the government would deserve the same treatment as "prescribed" for Gen Musharraf by the nation.
Ahsen Iqbal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said President Musharraf's was a "sinking ship".
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