Qazi, Musharraf talk for 3 hours

Published August 14, 2002

ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed held a three-hour long meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf to “discuss national and international matters.”

The meeting, according to party sources, was not a scheduled one as the JI chief was busy in the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) central parliamentary board meeting when he received a call from the president’s house.

During the meeting, which continued from 1pm to 4pm, the president discussed a host of issues “with Qazi Hussain Ahmed, including national and international matters,” a party press release said.

When asked about the circumstances leading to the meeting, a party leader said: “Qazi sahib was in the meeting with other heads of the MMA, as such, he certainly would have met the president with their consent and advice.”

The MMA had in past taken the stand on invitation from the president that the entire leadership of the six religio-political parties would together meet him. It is not yet clear whether the JI chief enjoyed the confidence of other five heads of component parties while meeting the president.

A three-line press release by JI’s Islamabad office was the only written thing about the meeting. No official handout was issued. Qazi was not available for the newsmen after the meeting, and his office said: “He was away with his family and may have left for Nowshera, his hometown.”

Opinion

Fifty years later

Fifty years later

The nation is stuck in a repetitive cycle: striving for fair and timely polls, basic rights, and civilian empowerment.

Editorial

Healing old wounds
09 Dec, 2023

Healing old wounds

IN a development that will surely shine a spotlight on one of the darkest chapters in Pakistan’s democracy, the...
New Danish law
09 Dec, 2023

New Danish law

THE public defilement of Islamic sanctities — mainly by Islamophobic provocateurs in the West — serves no...
Elected set-up’s job
09 Dec, 2023

Elected set-up’s job

Backed by a powerful establishment, the interim government has done a fairly good job at executing IMF-mandated policies.
Privatising SOEs
Updated 08 Dec, 2023

Privatising SOEs

WHY does the government want to demolish the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York — one of the eight properties ...
Filing returns
08 Dec, 2023

Filing returns

THE grim realities of Pakistan’s flailing efforts to ensure tax compliance often present themselves as farce....
Cost of negligence
08 Dec, 2023

Cost of negligence

ONCE again, Karachi has witnessed a tragic fire, this time engulfing a six-storey commercial-cum-residential ...