<b>Musharraf arrives in city today</b>

Sheikh Rakib Uddin - The Independent

A warm welcome will be accorded to General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, when he arrives in Dhaka this afternoon on a three-day state visit to Bangladesh.

Acting President Barrister Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar and Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia will greet the distinguished guest at Zia International Airport.

Twenty-one gun salute will be given to the Pakistan President when he alights from the plane. Bangladesh Air Force Fighters will escort the special aircraft carrying the Pakistan President and members of his entourage, from the entry point of the Bangladesh air space.

Musharraf will be given a guard of honour at the airport by a contingent drawn from the three services.

The Pakistan President will be accompanied by his wife Begum Sehba Musharraf, Commerce Minister Abdur Razzak Daud, Information Minister Niser Memon, LGRD Minister Mrs Shahida Jamil and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Enamul Haq.

Airport formalities over, Musharraf along with his entourage, will proceed to Savar Jatiya Smriti Shoudha to pay homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War. Then he will go to Hotel Sonargaon where he will stay during the visit.

In the evening, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will call on the Pakistan President in the hotel suite.

Later, the visiting President will call on the acting President of the host country at Bangabhaban where General Musharraf will attend a banquet to be hosted in his honour.

On Tuesday morning General Musharraf will offer fateha at the mazar of President Ziaur Rahman.

Musharraf who flies into Dhaka on the second leg of his trip to the two Asian nations avoiding the Indian air space, will hold official talks with Begum Zia at the Prime Minister’s office. The talks, which will focus meaning on trade and economic cooperation, will be followed by the signing some agreements on bilateral ties in the trade and cultural fields.

Musharraf will meet the representatives of the FBBCI at Hotel Sonargaon. He will attend a dinner at the Bangladesh – China Friendship Conference Centre to be hosted by the Prime Minister.

Next day, Musharraf will fly for Colombo concluding his visit to Bangladesh.

UNB adds: President Musharraf if the fourth Pakistani leader to visit Bangladesh after Prime Minister ZA Bhutto, President General Ziaul Haque, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

At least three agreements will be signed capping the talks for the establishment of a secretary-level forum to promote bilateral cooperation, setting up a Joint Business Council by the apex trade bodies of the two countries and a cultural agreement covering cooperation in the fields of education and sports.

Musharraf’s itinerary includes at breakfast meeting with his former batch mates in the army at Sonargaon Hotel on July 30 and meeting leaders of political parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League.

Before departure for Sri Lanka, the Pakistan President will meet the editors of national dailies and news agencies on the morning on July 31.

Musharraf will have a brief stopover at Beijing airport on his way back to Islamabad concluding his visit to the island nation Lanka.