Nawaz Sharif was also invited to what many termed here a ‘farewell dinner’ by the Saudi king for his Pakistani guest.

According to the sources, Nawaz Sharif himself had sought the meeting so as to find out details of the discussions earlier during the week between President Gen Pervez Musharraf and the Saudi leadership.

Riyadh has been abuzz with rumours that an ‘understanding’ was likely between Gen Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif after the president’s visit to the Saudi capital. Such speculations got credence after Prince Muqrim, the Saudi intelligence chief, and Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal called on President Musharraf during his stay in Riyadh.

The foreign minister has been meeting the former prime minister frequently since his arrival in Saudi Arabia on Sept 10.

Furthermore, the ISI chief, who accompanied the president to Saudi Arabia, stayed back in Riyadh after Gen Musharraf’s entourage moved to Jeddah. Gen Nadeem Taj’s prolonged stay in the Saudi capital fuelled speculations that an understanding between the two leaders was on the cards.

Sources said the ISI chief was again in Riyadh when Nawaz Sharif flew into the city on Friday.

Sources at the Pakistan embassy told Dawn that ‘clearance’ for the ISI chief’s plane had been sought from the embassy.

In Islamabad, a spokesman for the PML-N said that the party would announce Nawaz Sharif’s travel schedule on Saturday after a meeting of the All Parties Democratic Movement.

In reply to a question, Ahsan Iqbal said the Saudi government had agreed to ‘host’ the Sharifs only till the end of Ramazan.

He denied that the Sharif brothers were coming to Pakistan after striking a deal with President Musharraf.

Another leader of the party said Gen Musharraf had gone to Saudi Arabia with a request that Nawaz Sharif should not be allowed to come to Pakistan before the general election.

However, the Saudi authorities turned down the request, saying that they did not want to become a party to Pakistan’s domestic politics by helping keep one former prime minister out of the electoral process while another had been allowed to return home.

They said Gen Musharraf cut short his visit after being told that it was against Saudi policy to take sides in the politics of another country.

Sources in the PML-N said Nawaz Sharif would meet PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in an attempt to evolve a joint strategy on election-related matters.

They said the party would work out a plan to prevent a replay of Sept 10 -- when Nawaz Sharif was bundled off to Jeddah hours after landing at Islamabad. “This time it will not be possible for the government to deport him.”