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Islamabad: Exiled opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said yesterday he would not meet President Pervez Musharraf, the army general who deposed him eight years ago, when Musharraf visits Saudi Arabia this week.
"No, no, no," Sharif said from Saudi Arabia when asked if he would meet or have any contact with Musharraf, who is due to begin a two-day visit to the Kingdom today.
The opposition is calling for Musharraf to roll back emergency rule invoked on November 3, restore the constitution, reinstate judges ousted from the Supreme Court, lift curbs on the media and release thousands of detained lawyers and political and rights activists.
The Foreign Ministry said Musharraf would hold talks with King Abdullah in the capital Riyadh and perform a minor haj, or pilgrimage, to Makkah, Islam's holiest city, which is near the port city of Jeddah where Sharif lives.
Leaks of Musharraf's visit ignited speculation he would visit his old foe.
The News, a leading daily, said yesterday there were "credible reports" Musharraf would meet Sharif, whose return from exile was blocked in September.
"What am I supposed to talk to him about? He would have to accept all the opposition's demands first," Sharif said.
"Once he does all that I, the opposition that is, can sit across a table from him, but the opposition has to decide."
Sharif said he had rebuffed several approaches to set up a meeting with Musharraf in Saudi Arabia in the past two months.
Sharif has remained in Jeddah since he was put on a flight to Saudi Arabia in September after authorities blocked his attempted return from exile.
Unlike the country's other main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Sharif has steadfastedly refused to have any negotiations with Musharraf.
Saudi Arabia unhappiness at being asked to keep Sharif in exile was heightened by Musharraf's readiness to allow Bhutto to return to Pakistan last month without fear of prosecution in old corruption cases, according to diplomats and Pakistani officials.
Musharraf has become increasingly isolated since he declared emergency rule.
Election on january 8?
President Pervez Musharraf said he wants a national election to be held on January 8. But despite pressure from the United States over the weekend he did not say whether emergency rule would be revoked beforehand.
"Inshallah (God willing), the general elections in the country would be held on January 8," the official Associated Press of Pakistan news agency quoted Musharraf as saying late on Sunday. The report said he had recommended the date to the Election Commission
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