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By BENNY AVNI
Staff Reporter of the Sun
August 23, 2007

UNITED NATIONS— In a move that may endear her to Western supporters and moderates in her country — but which is also sure to be exploited by Islamist opponents — the top contender for Pakistan's premiership, Benazir Bhutto, conducted a private meeting this week with Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman.

A three-hour dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Midtown was attended by the exiled former prime minister of Pakistan, the Israeli ambassador, and a few associates. But Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Gillerman also conducted a private conversation during the evening, according to several sources familiar with the event, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ms. Bhutto initiated the meeting with Mr. Gillerman as she attempts to return to power in her homeland. Her worldwide campaign included a busy week in Manhattan, where the American-educated Ms. Bhutto also met with America's ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, as well as a host of press interviewers and opinion makers.

Jerusalem and Islamabad do not maintain diplomatic relations, but in recent years, as the Jewish state strengthened its ties with Pakistan's regional rival, India, Israeli officials also attempted to approach the government of President Musharraf.

Those attempts included a September 2005 public meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, between Israel's foreign minister at the time, Sivan Shalom, and his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri.

Ms. Bhutto is seen in Israel as a likely future leader, according to an Israeli government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. But Israelis and Pakistanis are well aware of the political sensitivities involved in her meeting with an Israeli official: Ms. Bhutto's main opponent in the upcoming election for prime minister, scheduled to take place no later than January, is likely to be another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, or one of his allies in a religious party, Jamaate-Islami.

Mr. Gillerman declined to comment when asked about the meeting yesterday.

"We do not know about her movements," a spokesman for the Pakistani Mission to the United Nations, who asked for anonymity, said of Ms. Bhutto.

A Pakistan-based spokesman for Ms. Bhutto, Frahatullah Babar, was unavailable for comment last night.

Pakistan, which leads such anti-Western international blocs as the Organization of Islamic Conference, maintains a strict pro-Arab stance in international forums. Nevertheless, its officials have recently warmed up to Israeli counterparts, and Mr. Gillerman has often conferred with his Pakistani counterpart at the United Nations, Munir Akram, who is away from New York this week. Nevertheless, such meetings are rarely advertised for fear of backlash rooted in popular suspicion in Pakistan of Israel and America. Ms. Bhutto's meeting with Mr. Khalilzad earlier this week was portrayed by her Pakistani opponents as part of an American grand plan — even as it was described as "private" by American officials. "They've been friends for years," Mr. Khalilzad's spokesman, Richard Grenell, said yesterday.

There is "no great U.S. plot," Ms. Bhutto said in an interview on PBS's "News Hour" Tuesday, referring to reported American attempts to broker an agreement that would allow her to go back to Islamabad to run for prime minister, as General Musharraf would be elected as president in September.

"We're not trying to bail out a military dictator by saying we will come there on your terms," Ms. Bhutto said. "What we are seeking is a compromise that could help bring about a stable, democratic, civilian order."

Despite the popular image, some in Pakistan see a kinship between their country and Israel: Pakistan was created as a Muslim state in 1947 as the Jewish state was being established in British-ruled Palestine. General Musharraf was reportedly impressed by the political resolve of Israel's leaders in confronting Gaza's Jewish settlers in the 2005 disengagement plan, and called Prime Minister Sharon a "great soldier and a courageous leader." "Our agenda is to reach out to the Islamic world, where Pakistan is a very important country — not to mention that it has the bomb," said the chairman of the American Jewish Congress's, Jack Rosen. Although he was unaware of the meeting with Ms. Bhutto, Mr. Rosen said yesterday that he welcomed it.

Mr. Rosen first visited General Musharraf in Islamabad in the spring of 2005, which led to a thaw in relations between Pakistan and American Jews, as well as Israelis. At an AJC-organized Manhattan dinner later that year, General Musharraf shared the dais with Mr. Gillerman. Despite initial fears of political fallout, "We have had positive response from the Pakistani media and people," Mr. Rosen said.