PM holds breakfast meeting with Pak Oppn leader

New Delhi, May 19: Pakistan's top opposition leader Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman today held a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed the entire gamut of Indo-Pak relations, besides developments in Afghanistan.

The Maulana, who is accompanied by a five-member delegation of Senators and Parliamentarians, urged the Prime Minister to give a required push to the peace process as he felt that the relations between the two countries lacked warmth.

During the 90-minute-long talks, the Prime Minister was assisted by National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and other senior officials from various ministries.

Sources said that the two sides freely exchanged views on various issues related to confidence building measures and steps that are being taken to resolve outstanding disputes in an amicable and peaceful manner.

It is learnt that the killing of Indian engineer Suryanarayana also came up for discussion with the Maulana, who strongly pleads for a political role for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Maulana has dismissed the Taliban's demand that Indians should leave Afghanistan, stating that Indians were engaged in the rebuilding process and not in any conflict there.

The Pakistani leader, who is the General Secretary of the Mutahida Majlis Amal, also held separate meetings with Mr Narayanan.

UNI