President Pervez Musharraf held talks with Saudi leaders on Tuesday during his first trip abroad since imposing emergency rule and reportedly asked them to rein in ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, exiled in Saudi Arabia.
Musharraf and King Abdullah discussed "the current situation in Pakistan," ways of boosting co-operation between their two countries, and events on the regional and world scenes, the official SPA news agency reported.
His visit came as Pakistan announced the release of thousands of prisoners detained under emergency rule imposed by Musharraf on November 3 and as Islamabad set January 8 as the date for parliamentary elections aimed at ending weeks of political turmoil.
A Pakistani diplomatic source told AFP that Musharraf wants Saudi Arabia to put pressure on Sharif to "refrain from carrying out any political activities and talking to the press about the situation in Pakistan, as he has been doing lately."
During his talks with Saudi leaders, Musharraf also urged them to make sure that Sharif does not try to return to Pakistan, as he did in September, arguing that his return would worsen the security situation and might affect next year's election.
He also urged Saudi leaders to lean on Sharif to cease his attempts to forge an alliance with fellow former premier Benazir Bhutto "as such an alliance would hamper the holding of the elections on time," according to the source, who asked not to be identified. SPA said Musharraf also examined "latest developments in Pakistan, regional and international issues of common concern, and ways of boosting bilateral ties" between Riyadh and Islamabad during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.
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