President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf reviewed on Tuesday the law and order situation in the country.

The prime minister was summoned by the president in what analysts believed to be a reaction to PPP’s main coalition allies, the MQM and PML-Q, extending support to Dr Tahirul Qadri’s agenda. He returned to Islamabad soon after the meeting which lasted more than an hour.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended the meeting which also discussed the massacre of 21 kidnapped jawans of Levies by the Taliban in Northern Areas.

A brief statement issued from the Bilawal House said: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House in Karachi today. Current situation in the country, especially the law and order situation, was discussed at the meeting.

The prime minister also briefed the president on energy situation in the country and various measures being taken to overcome the shortages of electricity and gas.

According to analysts, the president and the prime minister might have also discussed the political situation in the country against a background of a largely attended meeting in Karachi organised by the MQM and addressed by Dr Tahirul Qadri and Altaf Hussain.