Chowrangi

According to Haaretz.com, leading Israeli news site, the officials held two meetings in Paris - the first one brief, and the second one approximately an hour long.

Barak expressed to the Pakistani president his concern over the growing strength of extremist Islamic movements in Pakistan, and said he feared Pakistan’s nuclear weapons would fall into the hands of extremists.

Musharaff reportedly told Barak that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was well guarded.

DAWN reports that, Mr Barak had taken the initiative and approached President Musharraf. He introduced himself and praised the president’s role in the war on terror, saying: “We support your people and back you due to your significance in securing world peace”.

President Musharraf reportedly placed his hand on Mr Barak’s shoulder and replied: “Thank you very much. God willing, I hope you will make progress in the peace process”.

Government of Pakistan has officially declared this as a “chance” meeting. Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said the two dignitaries exchanged greetings and parted. “It was nothing more than a chance meeting and nothing was discussed there.”

Regarding the reported second meeting, the spokesman said he wasn’t aware of it.

Pakistan and Israel have no diplomatic ties and their officials rarely meet. But there have been several ‘chance meetings’ between the two sides in the past, apart from an arranged meeting between the then foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri and his then Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey in 2005.

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