October 28, 2002	Monday	Sha’aban 21,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 27: Amid a hectic race for the office of the prime minister, the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) prospective candidate Makhdoom Amin Fahim had, what his party termed, a “chance meeting” with President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday.

Both the official and the PPP spokesmen confirmed the two men met at a restaurant outside Islamabad but declined to give details of the meeting, which took political circles in the federal capital by surprise.

A source said the meeting, taking place only a day before President Musharraf’s scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, lasted for 15 minutes and could be followed by formal talks about the country’s future setup.

President’s press secretary Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi confirmed the Musharraf-Fahim meeting at Pir Sohawa but said he did not know if it was a scheduled meeting.

However, the PPP spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said it was a “chance meeting” as Mr Fahim had gone to Pir Sohawa for brunch at the restaurant.

“Gen Musharraf also came there at that time. The two exchanged pleasantries and no political discussion took place,” the PPP spokesman said.

But other political sources said the meeting was important as it was President Musharraf’s first known interaction with any prime ministerial aspirant after the elections.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, mandated by Benazir Bhutto to try to muster parliamentary support to form a coalition government, has floated the idea of a PPP-led “government of national consensus” that could include even the pro-Musharraf PML-Q.

However, the idea was opposed by some of the PPP’s allies in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy who do not want any truck with pro-Musharraf parties.

Both the PML-Q and the PPP are trying to win over MMA, which has nominated Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as its candidate for the prime minister.