No meeting is on the cards between President Asif Ali Zardari and his American counterpart Barack Obama at the United Nations in New York, where both leaders would be present to attend the UN General Assembly’s session early next week.
Efforts were made through diplomatic channels by Pakistani authorities for a meeting between President Zardari and his US counterpart, but they proved to be unsuccessful owing to the hectic schedule of President Obama, who is completely focused on his election campaign. “Pakistani authorities were politely told that the US leader would have been pleased to meet President Zardari but his schedule is so tight owing to the election campaign that formal talks between the two leaders couldn’t be held,” said a diplomatic source on Thursday, seeking anonymity.
However, he said the two leaders could have an informal chat during the UN General Assembly’s session where the American president was likely to host the dinner for world leaders. Zardari will reach New York on September 24 and will deliver his speech at the UN General Assembly’s session the next day. Apart from his address, President Zardari would meet other world leaders from several states. A Washington-based Pakistani diplomat also said there were no chances of President Zardari’s meeting with Obama owing to the tight schedule of the American leader. All importance is now being attached to the meeting between Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her US Counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington today (Friday). Foreign Minister Khar is currently visiting the US capital and meeting the American congressmen and senior officials of the Obama administration and discussing with them the important bilateral and regional issues. After concluding her visit to Washington, she would join the president’s delegation in New York at the United Nations.
The diplomat said during their informal chat at the United Nations, President Zardari was likely to convey to President Obama the feelings of deep anguish prevailing in Pakistan over the anti-Islam movie recently made in the United States and released on YouTube.