Benazir confirms she is in touch with govt

"There are constructive contacts (with the government), and if these can lead to a better understanding between the major forces in the country, I believe that would be in Pakistan's interest," she told the Geo News channel in an interview.

She also said that she saw the recent release of her once jailed husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and the flexibility shown to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif as important confidence building measures (CBMs) by the government.

"Zardari's release and a breathing space for Shahbaz Sharif can't be called a deal with the government, they are merely CBMs. What my husband and the junior Sharif got was their basic rights as Pakistanis," The News quoted Benazir as saying.

She also confirmed that she would remain in touch with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whom she had met this week in Jeddah along with Zardari.

She said it was important to give the process time to develop, comparing the present thaw to the peace dialogue between Pakistan and India.

"There are many obstacles ahead but the process of dialogue and contact is important," she was quoted by the Daily Times as saying.

Commenting about her meeting with Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah, Benazir described it as important for her personally. "It was cathartic," she added.

Meanwhile, both Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed have confirmed that contacts with the PPP leaderships since 1999.

Kasuri is said to have held several meetings with Benazir Bhutto, and those involved in arranging these meetings say that it was he who first initiated these contacts after getting a Šgreen signal from General Headquarters.