August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 14: President Pervez Musharraf’s scheduled meeting with his close aides after the ‘Salam Pakistan’ PTV programme at the President House on Wednesday night could not take place for unspecified reasons.

Sources told Dawn on Thursday that the staff of the President House had made arrangements for the meeting which was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

It was likely to be attended by PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad and some legal advisers of the president.

It is believed that President Musharraf changed his mind about the meeting after the PML-Q and the MQM did not support him in the Sindh assembly and abstained when a resolution against him was adopted.

However, despite ditching the president in the Sindh assembly, a number of leaders of the PML-Q and the MQM attended the function at the President House.

The sources said the president interacted only formally with his allies and even during the buffet dinner no leader of the allied parties was seen by his side.

Some of the guests said the atmosphere was “quite tense” and there was no spirit of jubilation.

“There was no excitement even when the president arrived at the function,” they said.

It has been learnt that some senior bureaucrats, retired army officers, politicians and businessmen left after the dinner and before the start of the cultural show because they did not want to be pictured by TV cameras.

Included among them were Cabinet Secretary Ghayasuddin, Housing Secretary Samiul Haq Khilji, former IT minister Chaudhry Nourez Shakoor and General (retd) Yusuf and General (retd) Aziz.

According to an insider, the President House had made standby arrangements with a private TV channel because of apprehensions that the state-run PTV could be stopped by the government from covering the programme.