Musharraf may meet with Sharif

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to end emergency rule, may meet with ex-premier Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia.

Musharraf was to leave Tuesday for Saudi Arabia where Sharif has lived in exile since being overthrown by the general in a bloodless coup in 1999, Dawn reported.

However, Sharif previously has said any meeting with Musharraf "will not serve any purpose, especially when he has detained judges and imposed a caretaker set-up of his own choice."

The Saudi Press agency reported Musharraf will discuss bilateral relations "and a number of regional and international issues" with Saudi King Abdallah.

The Voice of America reported the U.S. administration is continuing to push for an immediate end to the emergency rule. Last weekend, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte delivered a strong message calling for Musharraf to lift the decree did he not heed it.

The VOA reported U.S. State Department officials and the White House do not agree with some reports that the Negroponte mission was a failure.

The Daily Telegraph in Britain reported Imran Khan, former Pakistan cricket captain turned politician who was arrested last week, is on a hunger strike in a Pakistani jail to protest the emergency.