31 January 2005	Monday	20 Zilhaj 1425

ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has said President Gen Pervez Musharraf's aide Tariq Aziz has not met party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto in Dubai nor was he scheduled to meet her.

In a statement here on Sunday, Spokesman Farhatullah Babar claimed that a news item to this effect "had been planted in the press claiming that the regime had offered Ms Bhutto safe return, withdrawal of cases as well as a share in an interim regime, which she had rejected.

No such offer has been made," he said. These press reports are baseless, and have been repeated time and again since September 2004, he added.

He said the party believed that the story aimed to divide the opposition or convey to Gen Musharraf that the PPP had refused his mediation effort, if indeed he had made such an effort, or wanted to convey to the national and international intelligentsia that the PPP was being unreasonable in refusing the return of Ms Bhutto, withdrawal of cases as well as participation in an interim government.