May 01, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 30: President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan Muslim League-Q Chief Chaudhry Shujaat met on Wednesday and discussed matters relating to reinstatement of the deposed judges and the ongoing talks between the PPP and PML-N in Dubai.

According to PML-Q sources, it was an emergency meeting for which President Musharraf had asked Chaudhry Shujaat on Tuesday to rush to Islamabad.

The meeting which lasted over an hour was significant because it was held on the day the 30-day deadline for judges’ reinstatement ended and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif were meeting in Dubai to sort out their differences on the issue.

Chaudhry Shujaat was scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia for Umra but he cancelled his plan because of the situation in the country.

The sources said that Chaudhry Shujaat had apprised President Musharraf of his party’s strategy in case the judges were reinstated and its options if the PPP-PML-N alliance collapsed.

The sources said that President Musharraf wanted the PML-Q to join the PPP-led government in the event of the PML-N quitting the coalition.

Mr Musharraf is reported to have assured Chaudhry Shujaat that he would complete his constitutional term as president and the PML-Q chief assured the president that his party would continue to support him.

However, Chaudhry Shujaat is believed to have said that it would not be in the interest of the PML-Q to join the PPP-led government at this stage.