ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Saturday’s meeting between Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif and Brig (retd) Niaz Ahmed, a close aide of President Pervez Musharraf, in Islamabad has stirred the otherwise dull political atmosphere that had engulfed the country after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on December 27.

Even though the PML-N president had stated that the meeting was apolitical in nature, observers of Islamabad’s political manoeuvrings insisted that it had all the elements of some kind of a new initiative by the presidency in order to bail out Mr Musharraf from the current imbroglio.

The observers, however, were of the view that the meeting with the president’s envoy did not necessarily mean a final agreement of any sorts.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the PML-N president in a statement on Sunday said that Shahbaz Sharif’s meeting with Brig (retd) Niaz was simply a “personal matter”.

Spokesman Khawaja Aamer Raza denied the impression that Mr Sharif had held a secret meeting with Brig (retd) Niaz. In fact, he said, after the meeting, Mr Sharif on his own had met some journalists gathered outside the residence of Mr Niaz.

The spokesman further clarified that the meeting on Saturday between the two gentlemen had been the only one since the return of the Sharifs to the country.

All PML-N leaders have remained tight-lipped over the new situation. The situation is expected to become clearer in a couple of days once Shahbaz Sharif briefs his elder brother Nawaz Sharif about the meetings with Brig (retd) Niaz Ahmed, Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Al-Asseri and former FIA director-general Wajahat Latif.

Secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said he was not aware if the government had made any formal offer to the party to become a part of the “national unity government”.

He said it was his personal belief that the PML-N would not join any national government if it involved President Musharraf.