Hectic schedule for Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23. The Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, will have a hectic schedule during his three-day stay in India and the substantive part of his talks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his high-level delegation could extend beyond a day.

According to sources in the Pakistan Foreign Office, as per the tentative agenda for the tour of Gen. Musharraf, the crucial issues such as whether or not there would be a joint declaration at the end of the summit and whether or not the leaders would meet the press are yet to be finalised.

``These details are still being worked out. As the Indian External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, has indicated in Australia the details on the substantive elements of the summit meeting are still being finalised in consultation with each other. We suppose a clear picture on the final contours of the summit programme would emerge just a day or two days before July 15,'' a senior official of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said.

Indications are questions such as whether or not to adopt a declaration on the lines of the Lahore Declaration of February 1999 and whether the leaders should address a joint press conference at the end of their parleys would depend on the deliberations of the summit.

``Everything would be subject to the progress at the summit. Let us see how the leaders click with each other and what kind of chemistry they manage to establish in the course of their dialogue. In a summit like this, particularly involving India and Pakistan, you cannot expect a pre-determined format,'' the official said.

The officials on both sides believe that it is better to leave to both the leaders the task of evolving an agenda of their own on the basis of the briefs they get from their respective officials. ``A rigid structure and frame-work for the summit is a sure recipe for collapse of the talks''.

As per the tentative schedule, the substantive element of the visit would begin on the morning of July 15. It could begin at the level of one-to-one talks and progress towards delegation-to- delegation level parleys. ``What is for sure is that there would be more than one round of talks at the highest level. The delegation to assist the two leaders on both sides would depend on the subjects that could come up for concrete discussion''.

There is preparedness for the summit dialogue to spill over to the next day. ``We are proceeding on the assumption that Gen. Musharraf would have his lunch at Agra so that there is sufficient time for both sides to produce any joint document or merely to enable the two leaders to meet the press''.

If the two leaders succeed in reaching some understanding on July 15, the officials on both sides might have to burn the proverbial mid-night oil to produce a mutually acceptable document. ``We are prepared for such an eventuality,'' remarked an official.

Tentative programme

As per the tentative programme, Gen. Musharraf, along with his wife and the rest of the entourage, is expected to land in New Delhi by a special aircraft on the morning of July 14. The cavalcade would drive straightaway to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the ceremonial welcome.

He is expected to visit Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. It would be followed by call-ons by a host of Indian leaders on the visiting dignitary and perhaps a visit by Gen. Musharraf to his ancestral home in Darya Ganj. In the evening, the Pakistan High Commissioner in India, Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, is expected to host a `high-tea reception'. The guest list is anyone's guess but hopefully he would not embarrass India by inviting leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

Then comes the banquet followed by the dinner hosted by the President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan. Next morning he takes off to Agra for serious and substantive business. He is expected to be in Agra till the afternoon of July 16.

On July 16, he flies to Jaipur to hop on to a chopper that would take him to Ajmer-e-Sharif for a pilgrimage. He would return to Jaipur and is expected back in Islamabad by the night.

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Section  : International
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