ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The visiting Palestinian foreign minister, Farouk Kaddoumi, who called on President Gen Pervez Musharraf here on Tuesday, delivered to him a letter from President Yasser Arafat.

Mr Kaddoumi also called on Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali before leaving for home after a two-day visit to Pakistan. The Palestinian foreign minister conveyed his assessment of the situation in the Middle east during his meeting with Mr Jamali.

Mr Kaddoumi also called on the chairman of the Senate, Mian Muhammad Soomro who hosted a lunch for him. The lunch was attended by federal ministers Liaquat Jatoi, Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr, Hamayun Akhtar, MNA Ijaz-ul Haq, ambassadors of Palestine, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and UAE.

Foreign ministers Khaddoumi and Kasuri also held a farewell meeting. A press release issued by the foreign office said during the meetings between the two foreign ministers, Khursheed Kasuri briefed his Palestinian counter-part on the ramifications for Pakistan and the region of the rapidly developing security relationship between India and Israel.

The two sides also reviewed the regional situation in the Middle East, particularly the impediments in the implementation of the Quartet's road map, the foreign office said.