03 July 2004	Saturday	14 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

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ISLAMABAD July 2: NWFP Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani held an important meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday in what was described as an attempt to lower tension between the centre and the province over issue of National Security Council (NSC).

Mr Durrani had boycotted the inaugural meeting of the NSC held on June 24 last in line with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Supreme Council decision which also kept the Leader of the Opposition Maulana Fazlur Rahman away from it.

President Musharraf had taken a serious notice of the chief minister's absence, leading to heightening of tension between Centre and the province. Since then many top leaders of the MMA had expressed their fear that Centre was likely to take a punitive action against the provincial government.

The meeting was arranged by Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on the desire of the NWFP chief minister. The MMA leadership, according to insiders, was perturbed over the prevailing situation and allowed Mr Durrani to take measures which he deemed fit.

Mr Durrani met Chaudhry Shujaat on Thursday to congratulate him on his assumption of office of the prime minister. During the meeting, Mr Durrani requested the prime minister to help lower down the tension which had been caused by his boycott of the NSC meeting.

The prime minister reportedly advised the NWFP chief minister to meet the president directly to bring the tension down. Then the prime minister took the provincial chief minister along with him and met the president before the inter-provincial meeting on law and order which was co-chaired by the president and prime minister at the President's House.

MMA sources told Dawn on Friday that the chief minister's meeting with President Musharraf was of great help and it considerably reduced the Centre-province tension.

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