LAHORE, May 18: Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday had an over three-hour long meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Mian Nawaz Sharif at the Model Town residence of the Sharifs.

According to a PML-N official, security matters and the situation in the region were discussed at the meeting.

“The army chief and Nawaz Sharif expressed their determination to fight terrorism. Mr Sharif also praised the army’s role in strengthening democracy and providing security during the elections,” he said.

A few days ago, Gen Kayani had telephoned Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and enquired after his health.

Tariq Azeem, a leader of the PML-N, told Dawn that the army chief congratulated Nawaz Sharif over the victory of his party. “The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and lasted over three hours.”

Shahbaz Sharif was also present at the meeting.

Observers attached significance to the meeting between Gen Kayani and the future prime minister in view of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan next year. According to them, since the “Afghan strategy” was likely to be reshaped, Gen Kayani must have broached the matter with Mr Sharif.

There are other matters like the fate of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf and Gen Kayani’s retirement in November this year.

Earlier, Nawaz Sharif had asked the PPP-led government to “seriously take up” the Tehreek-i-Taliban’s offer for talks, arguing that there was a need to begin negotiations with the militants without wasting time.

“There is a need to take the Taliban’s offer (for talks) seriously because the people of Pakistan want peace. I ask the government to initiate result-oriented peace talks with the Taliban without any delay as military operation is no solution to any problem,” Sharif had said when Taliban offered talks to the government earlier this year.

Hasan Askari, a defence analyst, described the Nawaz-Kayani meeting as “exploratory”.

“The army and the PML-N have divergent views on the “war against terror” and the military operation in the tribal area. The meeting provided the PML-N leadership and the army chief an opportunity to know each other’s views on these issues,” Mr Askari told Dawn.

He said the army chief was likely to hold a briefing for the new government.

Ijazul Haq, chief of the PML-Z, who has won a National Assembly seat from Bahawalnagar and declared support to the PML-N, told reporters the other day that Gen Musharraf “will leave the country before swearing- in of the new (PML-N) government,” giving a clear indication that ‘something is being negotiated’ in the Musharraf case.

In a related development, advocate Aslam Ghumman, who had filed a petition in the judges’ detention case, withdrew his complaint against Gen Musharraf on Friday. Mr Ghumman said: “I have decided to withdraw the complaint in the larger national interest.”

On its part, the PML-N has given no indication that it is interested in a trial of Gen Musharraf under Article 6 after coming to power. “There is a likelihood that Musharraf’s fate was discussed at the Nawaz-Kayani meeting,” Hasan Askari said.

About the grant of extension to Gen Kayani, Nawaz Sharif had said in an interview to an Indian news channel before the general elections that he did not think that Gen Kayani would not seek extension. He had also said the new army chief should be appointed on ‘seniority’ basis.

“I think we will have a new army chief after Gen Kayani’s retirement by the end of this year,” Askari said.

Pervaiz Rasheed, a PML-N leader, Dawn that Nawaz Sharif and Gen Kayani discussed internal and external security issues. “Mr Sharif is the future prime minister of Pakistan and if Gen Kayani gives him briefing on security matters, there is nothing unusual in it.”

He parried a question about Gen retired Pervez Musharraf and Gen Kayani’s extension.