India clears way for SAARC meet

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, FEB. 23. India today cleared the last hurdle for a meeting of the South Asian leaders later in the year that could bring the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, face to face with Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

In agreeing to convene a meeting of Foreign Secretaries of the seven South Asian nations in May, India has demonstrated its flexibility on reviving the mechanisms for regional cooperation. At the same time, it appears to have retained the political discretion to launch a new engagement with Pakistan if Gen. Musharraf can end cross-border terrorism.

India today told the visiting Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, that it was ready for a meeting of the Standing Committee of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation in the second half of May. The Foreign Secretaries of the seven South Asian nations form the SAARC Standing Committee.

As the head of SAARC, Ms. Kumaratunga has been pressing for an early summit of the South Asian leaders. The SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in November 1999, was put off after Gen. Musharraf's coup the previous month.

Since then, India has been reluctant to signal support to the SAARC summit. Mr. Vajpayee has also gone to great lengths to avoid meeting Gen. Musharraf at various multilateral fora.

The meeting of the Standing Committee was ``a necessary but not sufficient condition'' for the convening of the SAARC Summit, informed sources said here. The Standing Committee might open the door for a SAARC summit and a Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting but does not ensure either.

India has ``offered no commitment'' at this stage beyond a readiness to attend the SAARC Standing Committee, the sources said. If Gen. Musharraf could demonstrate a capacity to rein in the jehadi groups over the next few weeks, India will have the SAARC framework ready to facilitate a substantive engagement with Pakistan, they added.

The Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries will have an opportunity to meet on the margins of the meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee in mid May.

As it happens, the time-frame for convening the SAARC Standing Committee now runs parallel to the ceasefire in Kashmir, extended until the end of May.

Diplomatic observers say the ``political onus'' is now on those clamouring for a SAARC summit to convince Pakistan to create the appropriate conditions over the next few months for an Indo-Pak dialogue.

Colombo-LTTE talks

Today, Ms. Kumaratunga apprised Mr. Vajpayee of her efforts to initiate talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and pursue constitutional reforms to address the demands of Tamils for political devolution. India reiterated its commitment to Sri Lanka's unity and territorial integrity.

Ms. Kumaratunga also briefed the Indian side on the ``concept'' of a mechanism to monitor any future agreements between the Government and the LTTE. There has been speculation about Indian concerns on the participation of troops from other countries in the monitoring mechanism. The two sides agreed to ``further discuss'' all issues relating to the implementation of a peace accord in Sri Lanka, a Foreign Office spokesman said here.

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