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Pak may persuade Saudis
to mediate on J&K: PTI

Pakistan's military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf is expected to persuade Saudi Arabia to mediate between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, during his significant and strategically important visit to the Kingdom beginning on Wednesday, official sources said.

Musharraf is "expected to sound Saudi's interest to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir," the sources said.

Officially billed as a pilgrimage to Haj, the eight-day visit by Musharraf comes close on the heels of last month's trip of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Riyadh, the first by an Indian minister.

Pakistan officially expressed concern over the Indian initiative with Saudi Arabia, with which it has close religious and bilateral relations.

Apart from Kashmir, Musharraf will hold discussions on wide ranging issues like Palestine, the United States demand for the extradition of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan and Saudi funding of thousands of militant Islamic religious schools in Pakistan, media reports said.

The chief executive is also scheduled to meet Saudi King Fahd, Deputy Prime Minister and President of National Guards, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Aziz and various others.

The fate of exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharief, who is making desperate attempts to return to save his Pakistan Muslim League party, will also be discussed.

The PML, which was consistently used by the previous military rulers as a shortcut to emerge as political leaders, has already been split into pro and anti-Nawaz factions.

There was also speculation that Musharraf, who has to hand over power to an elected government by October, 2002 following a recent Supreme Court order, may take over the leadership of the PML himself to contest the polls.

Musharraf, also under considerable pressure from the US to prevail on Afghanistan's Taleban regime to hand over Saudi dissident Bin Laden, was expected to discuss the issue with the Saudi leadership.

The USaccuses Bin Laden of masterminding the bombings of its embassy in East Africa in 1998.

The Taleban and Islamabad are in quandary over how to overcome the UN sanctions against Taleban, which is close to Pakistan.

The issue of Saudi funding to over 25,000 Islamic religious schools, which taught militant culture, is also expected to figure as Pakistan at the instance of pressure from the international community proposed a limited crackdown on militant groups.

Musharraf will also press for a decision from Riyadh on the proposal to replace the American marines in Saudi with Pakistani troops.

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