January 20, 2003	Monday	Ziqa'ad 16, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: Saudi ambassador to Pakistan Ali Saeed Awadh Asseri called on Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat on Saturday and discussed with him matters of bilateral interest.

The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, discussed ways and means to strengthen relations between the two countries. The interior minister is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia on Monday to perform Umra.

According to an interior ministry source, the issue of return of some members of the Sharif family from Saudi Arabia also came under discussion.

The source said the meeting discussed the arrival of four family members of Abbas Sharif from Saudi Arabia who had come last week after taking permission from the Pakistan government.

According to reports, two more members of the Sharif family have arrived from the Saudi Kingdom.

It may be mentioned that earlier the interior minister had announced that no family members of the Sharif family would be allowed to return to Pakistan.

Talking to Dawn, Secretary to Saudi ambassador, Asif Siddiqui confirmed the meeting of the Saudi envoy with the interior minister. However, he termed it unscheduled.

He said the Saudi embassy had written a letter to the foreign office a couple of weeks ago that the Saudi envoy wanted to meet the interior minister. But due to some other engagements of the minister, the meeting could not take place.

When contacted, an spokesman of the interior ministry expressed ignorance about the arrival of some other members of the Sharif family. “I have also heard the news that some other members of the Sharif family have arrived but the interior ministry has not been informed about their arrival,” the spokesman said.

Responding to a question, the official ruled out the possibility of any meeting between the minister and members of the Sharif family during his visit to Saudi Arabia.

LETTER: The interior ministers of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will be meeting in the kingdom during the next few days to devise ways and means to further enhance cooperation in the war on terror, human and drugs smuggling, Ashraf Mumtaz adds from Lahore.

Official sources told Dawn here on Sunday that the Saudi interior minister had sent a letter to Faisal Saleh Hayat, expressing his desire that the two Islamic countries should join hands in these fields.

Faisal Saleh Hayat is leaving for Saudi Arabia on Monday to perform Umra. Though the week-long visit will be private in nature, he will be meeting his counterpart Prince Nayf to see how Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could promote cooperation in these areas.

Though Pakistan has already taken various steps to curb terrorism and smuggling, more proposals would come up for discussion at the planned meeting.

Relations between the two countries are already very strong and they consult each other whenever some important development takes place at the global level.

During Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s recent visit there, Saudi Arabia had assured him oil supplies worth over $1 billion on deferred payment basis.

IRAQ CRISIS: Meanwhile, the interior ministry has sent a letter to all provincial governments directing them to assess the possible impact of a likely US attack on Iraq.

According to sources, the ministry has asked them to focus on the political, economic and administrative situation in the provinces in case the crisis is not resolved through peaceful means.