President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan received at his office in Rawalpindi near Islamabad Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who is currently on a visit to Pakistan. The meeting was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Awadh Asseri. Following the meeting, Prince Muqrin said in press remarks that he conveyed to President Pervez Musharraf and the people of Pakistan the concerns of the Kingdom about recent developments in Pakistan. He said "the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Abdulaziz hopes that all parties concerned with the agreement under which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to Saudi Arabia in December 2000 will honor and adhere to its terms". He added that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques helped Sharif family to get them out of the imprisonment under such agreement. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques considers the stability and security of Pakistan as the stability and security of Saudi Arabia, he said. With regard to the agreement with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, I want to make it clear such agreement was made to facilitate and ensure the stability of Pakistan. As we are all well aware of the challenges that are facing the Muslim Ummah in general and Pakistan in particular, there is a great need of unity and wisdom, Prince Muqrin said. I hope that the concerned parties would put the national interest and stability of Pakistan above any personal interest, he added. Prince Muqrin waived the agreement that he said was signed by all parties including Sharif under which the former prime minister had departed from Pakistan. In response to a question, he said President Musharraf did not talk about sending Sharif to Saudi Arabia if the former prime minister returned to Pakistan on September 10 as announced. He said Sharif's return was not a threat to Saudi-Pak relations because of the deep-rooted brotherly relations between the two Muslim countries. He said they respect the Supreme Court of Pakistan's decision that allowed Sharif to come back to Pakistan, but added that the agreement also existed, which needed to be honored as well. --More
