March 22, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 18, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 21: The vice-president of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the alliance’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, held a detailed meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf at GHQ on the latter’s invitation, and discussed with him the situation arising out of the US-led attack on Iraq.

The meeting, reportedly spanning over two hours, was kept a guarded secret both by the Jamaat-i-Islami sources and the officials.

While a JI spokesman refused to confirm or deny the reported meeting, Federal Minister for Information Sheikh Rashid said: “I don’t think such a meeting would have taken place.”

Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, Director General of the ISPR and president’s spokesman, also expressed his ignorance about such a meeting.

“No such meeting is in my knowledge as I remained at the GHQ the whole day on Thursday, and the president was also there.”

Mr Ahmed received the invitation when a meeting of the heads of six-party alliance to discuss Iraq situation was in progress at the local office of Jamaat-i-Islami, eyewitnesses said.

In the midst of the meeting, the Jamaat chief took the religious alliance chief Allama Shah Ahmed Noorani and secretary general Maulana Fazlur Rahman aside and informed them about the invitation.

After a nod from the alliance leaders, he left and kept away from the remaining part of the MMA supreme council proceedings spanning three hours.

A JI spokesman, Shahid Shamsi, when asked to give details of the meeting, quipped: “I can’t confirm or deny whether a meeting between the JI chief and the president had taken place.”