LONDON, June 25: PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto arrived here from Dubai on Monday along with her children ostensibly to spend summer holidays. She is expected to stay here for almost a month during which she is likely to visit a number of European countries including France.

On July 20 she will speak at the Institute of International Strategic Studies (IISS) on a whole range of subjects relating to Pakistan and the region.

Incidentally, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri also arrived here from the US on his way back to Pakistan.

The foreign minister is said to be taking an important message for President Gen Musharraf from top US officials.

According to informed sources so far no deal had been struck between Ms Bhutto and President Musharraf though talks were said to be still continuing.

The US is said to have emphasised that it would like to see continuity of policies in Pakistan, especially those concerning Afghanistan and war against terror at all costs but, at the same time, it wants to see fair and free elections in the country and President Musharraf joining hands with mainstream political parties rather than the MMA and PML (Q) whose ideology is being seen in Washington as nearer to the MMA than Musharraf’s enlightened moderation.

The US is said to have told the foreign minister that they would prefer Musharraf withdrawing the reference against the Chief Justice as in their opinion this ‘irritant’ could get out of hand if not controlled in time and could seriously threaten Musharraf’s hold on power.