Pak. happy with invitation

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MAY 26. The military establishment is pleased with the text of the invitation extended by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to the military ruler and the Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to visit New Delhi for peace talks.

A senior official in the Pakistan Government noted that the tone and tenor of the letter of Mr. Vajpayee did not pose any `irritant' to Islamabad in accepting the invitation.

``The Chief Executive's Secretariat and the Foreign Office are burning the proverbial mid-night oil to produce an appropriate reply. Hopefully the reply should be ready in two to three days''.

The initial reaction of the official in the military establishment was that ``there was nothing painful in the letter''. When pressed to elaborate he said Islamabad was happy to note that the letter did not make reference to any of the sore points.

Avoidance of reference to `cross border terrorism', a phrase India has been harping on for several months now, has not gone unnoticed in the military government. The managers of the Musharraf regime have also noted that the letter does not join issue with Islamabad on the `oppressive and suppressive policies' of New Delhi in Kashmir.

``We have no reason to complain given the tone and tenor of the letter of the Indian Prime Minister. The response of the Chief Executive could only be expected to be equally warm and sweet'', the official said.

The official however did concede that the military government would have to do a great deal on the domestic front in building a favourable public opinion before embarking on the journey to New Delhi.

``It is particularly necessary given the reaction of the jehadi and the religious outfits. The Musharraf Government is fully conscious of the fate suffered by the Nawaz Sharif Government in the wake of the Lahore Summit and would undertake in the days to come an exercise to initiate talks with all those concerned,'' the official said.

He claimed that though the exact nature of consultations with the political and non-political forces before the departure of the Chief Executive was yet to be decided, the process would begin soon.

Asked about the speculation on the dates of the summit, the official said, ``we have seen reports in the Indian media suggesting early July for the summit. I suppose it suits Gen. Musharraf perfectly well. Though he has no engagements abroad in the month of June, he would be busy in the first few weeks with the preparations for the budget''.

The Pakistan budget for 2001-2002 is scheduled to be presented by the Finance Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, in the third/fourth week of June.

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