In a rare departure,Prime Minister of UAE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum skipped a function in the capital last week,leading to speculation that it was in objection to the presence of author Salman Rushdie at the event. The PM,who is also the ruler of Dubai,was scheduled to deliver an address on Dubai 2020 at the India Today conclave last Friday but pulled out at the last minute. While it is unclear why the UAE Prime Minister waited for the last minute to cancel his appearance,sources say his office was aware about the presence of the controversial writer at the event. Rushdie,who rubbed hardliners the wrong way over perceived anti-Islamic passages in his 1988 book the Satanic Verses,was one of the many speakers at the conclave. He was scheduled to speak later in the day at a different session. The pullout left organisers surprised as Rushdies presence at the event was well-publicised and the entire sequence of events and speakers was in the public domain. The explanation given at the conclave was that the Sheikh had to rush to Dubai for urgent work. In his place,the chairman and chief executive of the Emirates Airlines group,Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum,delivered the keynote address on Dubai 2020. Sheikh Ahmed is the Prime Ministers brother. He spoke about the need to grow security cooperation between the countries and talked about the need to expand the deep rooted ties the two sides share.
