NEW YORK, Aug 23: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had an ‘unscheduled meeting’ with the Ambassador of Israel to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, at a dinner hosted by a common friend in New York the other day.

“We met at a dinner briefly”, Ms Bhutto responded when asked about the meeting by Dawn.

However, Israeli sources at the United Nations told Dawn that the meeting between Ms Bhutto and the Israeli envoy was pre-arranged and it went on for over three hours.

Ambassador Gillerman has met in the past Pakistani leaders and officials including President Pervez Musharraf and Ambassador Munir Akram and former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Jehangir Karamat.

Two years ago the powerful American Jewish lobby hosted a dinner for President Pervez Musharraf at a local hotel, attended by several Pakistani cabinet ministers and officials.