Pak President to meet Sharif8217;s close aide

He said he would convey Sharif8217;s message to the President about the quot;political and economic crisisquot; in the country. The proposed meeting will be the first between the PML and the military regime since General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup on October 12 and arrested Sharif and several top government officials.

Musharraf had last month said he would establish contacts with political leaders and discuss matters of national importance. Shafi, however, ruled out an immediate meeting between PML leaders and Musharraf. quot;There is no possibility of meeting with Musharraf in the near future and the decision about any such contact will be taken by the party,quot; Shafi said.

quot;I will submit a memorandum to the President about the party8217;s concern over Sharif8217;s trial, particularly in Attock Fort,quot; Shafi said. Sharif, 52, was formally charged with corruption on Friday by an accountability court established in the 16th century Mughal-built Attock Fort near Islamabad. The Army-led National Accountability Bureau probing alleged corruption in the previous government has accused Sharif of buying a Russian helicopter in 1993 without declaring it to avoid tax.

Sharif, who in April was convicted and sentenced to life for hijacking and terrorism, has rejected the latest charges as quot;bogus.quot; Sharif has filed an appeal in the Sindh High Court against his conviction. The prosecution in the terrorism case has also lodged an appeal seeking the death penalty.

Sharif8217;s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, last week announced she would launch a public campaign for the release of her husband. Sharif still heads the party but many PML leaders have opposed a confrontation with the military government, which has vowed to clean up politics. Pakistan8217;s Supreme Court last month quot;validatedquot; the military coup and gave a three-year time frame for Musharraf to return the country to democracy.