Gilani, Asfandyar call on Zardari

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House here on Tuesday night.
Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said they enquired after the president’s health and expressed satisfaction that he had recovered and had returned to the country. The overall political situation with particular reference to the latest developments also came under discussion during the meeting. Sources said the army’s clarification about speculation regarding Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s telephonic talk with President Zardari and the Supreme Court’s proceedings about the memo issue were among important issues discussed during the meeting.
Earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik also separately called on the president at Bilawal House and briefed him on the current state of law and order in the country. Babar said the president also called Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on the phone earlier in the day and discussed with him the current political situation in the country. In a separate statement issued earlier, the Babar denied reports in a section of the press that the president was planning to leave for London. “Reports of [Zardari] leaving for London are speculative and untrue,” he said. “The president is in the country, is here to stay and there are no plans for travel abroad,” the spokesman said. Separately, in a message released here on Tuesday, the president expressed profound grief and shock at reports that over 50 Pakistani youths hailing from Quetta had gone missing at sea in East Java and called for a report from the authorities concerned.