Pak. media on a speculation spree

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 27. Is something cooking behind the scenes in the run-up to the much- awaited summit meet between the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee?

Are the two countries on the verge of reaching or already reached an agreement on some of the contentious issues? These are some of the questions bothering the Pakistani media as the count-down for the summit has started.

Significantly, no one is prepared to buy `tough posturing' on both sides of the border. Despite the repeated assertions of Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee that there is no shift in their stand on basic issues, there is a lingering suspicion of a `deal in the making'.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani English daily, Dawn, published a report about the possibility of an agreement envisaging phased withdrawal of troops from Siachen. Denial of the report has not dampened the spirits of the scribes and the media continues to write about various scenarios of an accord.

The mouth-piece of the Jamaat-e-Islami in a report today has claimed that Gen. Musharraf would, on his return from India, prevail upon the Jehadi outfits to agree for a ceasefire.

The paper has said that the military government is in touch with the Jehadi outfits and consultations are on in this regard. Quoting reliable sources it said both the sides have agreed to make progress on various aspects. It said there is consensus to `freeze the affairs' in Kashmir.

It said that the size of the Pakistan army on the LoC and in ``AJK'' would also be reduced to less than 50 percent. As part of the homework on talks with India, contacts are being established with the Jehadi outfits and their advice is being sought.

The sense of `something in the air' was also evident in the interaction between senior editors and Gen. Musharraf on Tuesday. Most of the editors came out with the impression that the President not only appears but also sounds `supremely confident' of forward movement at the summit.

The column editor of Ausaf, Mr. Hamid Mir, is a reflection of the mood after the meeting with Gen. Musharraf. Mr. Mir is a known critic of the General and has been unsparing in his columns.

``One can have difference of opinion with Gen. Musharraf on various issues but in yesterday's meeting there was no room for any difference. Gen. Musharraf discussed his coming meeting with the Indian Prime Minister and various aspect of the Kashmir issue with us for about three hours,'' he wrote in his column.

Mr. Mir has written that Gen. Musharraf admitted that there might be no breakthrough in his meeting with Mr. Vajpayee, but a way could certainly be found which goes towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

According to the report, Gen. Musharraf asked all the participants whether India was serious about talks and, excluding two, majority of them said ``India was not sincere in holding talks with Pakistan and as in the past it was using talks to counter Mujahideen's pressure.''

``There was not even a single clue in Gen. Musharraf's assertions in the meeting that he would, under any internal or outside pressure, ask Mujahideen to agree to a ceasefire. However, the proposal was discussed that if India agreed to withdraw its forces, a sincere appeal to Mujahideen could be made for ceasefire. Some of the intellectuals are of the view that a formula has already been worked out in Washington to resolve the Kashmir issue. It was the same formula, which was presented by Ch. Shujat Hussain. But neither the editors nor Gen. Musharraf gave any importance to the said formula as it was not in the interest of China,'' Mr. Mir has written.

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