RIYADH Former president Pervez Musharraf left Jeddah for London on Wednesday afternoon after a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia amid speculations that another Saudi-backed political arrangement was on the cards in Pakistan.

General (retd) Musharraf had a long meeting with King Abdullah that began late on Tuesday night and continued into the early hours of Wednesday. Initially, senior Saudi ministers attended the meeting, but after 45 minutes they left the room and a one-to-one discussion between the king and the former president continued for about two hours and 15 minutes.

What transpired at the meeting was difficult to ascertain, but according to sources close to the former president he would say something about it on returning to London. They said that after the meeting Mr Musharraf was in 'high spirits'. His body language was 'positive' and he sounded 'very optimistic'.

Officially nothing much has been said by the Saudi side. In a brief news release, the official Saudi Press Agency said 'The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, received at his palace here today former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. During the audience, they held cordial talks. The audience was attended by a number of officials.'

It is an open secret here that President Musharraf resigned from the presidency last year under an arrangement and that the Saudis were one of the guarantors. Under the arrangement, there would be no trial of or court cases against the former president. Washington and London are believed to be among other guarantors.

Sources here say that it would be naive to think that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif was unaware of the arrangement. And now the guarantors want the arrangement to be respected in letter and in spirit.

Mr Sharif is also expected here next week, during the last days of Ramazan. Public posturing apart, the sources said, Mr Sharif would be aware of the importance of the guarantee given by the Saudis.

It may be mentioned that Mr Musharraf's was a high-profile visit. Not only did the king send a special plane to bring him to the kingdom, the meeting on Tuesday night was shown on Saudi TV. The SPA also released a picture showing the king engaged in discussion with the former president.

The Saudi initiative needs to be seen against the backdrop of the keen interest taken by Riyadh in political stability in Pakistan.