May 7, 2005	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, May 6: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday held an informal meeting and discussed the prevailing political situation in the country, sources told Dawn.

The sources said the unscheduled meeting between Mr Zardari and the Maulana was held at the Islamabad Airport when the two leaders reached there to take flights for Lahore and Karachi, respectively.

The sources said both the leaders also discussed the relationship between the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).

It may be mentioned that the PPP was against any cooperation with the MMA in any anti-government movement due to its past record when the religious alliance entered into an agreement with the government and supported it in the passage of the 17th Constitutional Amendment.

Mr Zardari had arrived in Islamabad from Karachi on Thursday evening and after an overnight stay, he left for Lahore on Friday morning. Political circles are seeing Mr Zardari’s short visit to the capital with suspicion as during his short stay, Mr Zardari only met with the Iranian ambassador and did not take part in any other political activity.

When contacted, PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said Mr Zardari had come to Islamabad only to meet the Iranian ambassador as he could not meet the envoy in his previous visit to the capital. He denied the reports that Mr Zardari held talks with any government representative during his stay in Islamabad.