JEDDAH, 28 July 2007 — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf arrived in Jeddah after a short visit to the United Arab Emirates yesterday. He was received at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Minister of State Abdullah Zainal, and Pakistan Ambassador to the Kingdom Shahid Karim Ullah. He will perform Umrah, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Earlier, Musharraf held talks with the the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammad ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan.
They discussed bilateral relations, chiefly “cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism,” and regional issues, the embassy spokesman said. Musharraf came to Abu Dhabi while both the UAE president and its vice-president, who also serves as prime minister, were out of the country.
Three television networks, quoting unidentified sources, meanwhile said Musharraf met the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto in the UAE.
The president’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, said in Islamabad the reports were “completely baseless.”
A Pakistani Embassy spokesman in the UAE said he did “not know anything” about the reported meeting, while an aide at Benazir’s home in the nearby emirate of Dubai said he did “not have any information” about the purported encounter.
Musharraf last visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia in January. Islamabad has close ties with both the Gulf countries.
