Pak Army chief meets PM; Zardari in Tehran

Amidst a political showdown between the government and the opposition, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and discussed the political and security situation in the country.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of a major crackdown on lawyers and opposition party activists ahead of a nationwide protest.

Kayani called on Gilani at the Prime Minister's House and discussed matters of national importance, state-run APP news agency reported without giving details.

Official sources told private television news channels that the two leaders had discussed the internal security situation and political issues.

The two leaders met at a time when President Asif Ali Zardari is out of the country to attend a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation in Tehran.

Pakistani authorities had on Tuesday launched a crackdown on rights activists, lawyers and opposition party activists in Islamabad and Punjab province ahead of a "long march" by the lawyers' movement to pressure the government to reinstate judges sacked during the 2007 emergency by former President Pervez Musharraf.

Hundreds of people have been detained or placed under house arrest by the authorities, who have banned protests and rallies across Punjab and Sindh provinces.