Pak. Commerce Minister may be left out

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 8. It is more or less clear now that the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, will travel to New Delhi next week with a single point agenda - Kashmir.

Indications from reliable sources in the establishment suggest that the Commerce Minister, Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, could be the casualty of the ``policy decision'' by the military establishment to limit the delegation accompanying Gen. Musharraf to a ``small team''.

Gen. Musharraf was toying with the idea of taking Mr. Dawood along to discuss a host of trade-related issues, including the grant of the most-favoured nation (MFN) status to India. However, it seems the proposal has almost been dropped in view of the assessment that the inclusion of the Commerce Minister could detract the focus of the summit-level dialogue from Kashmir to other ``less important issues''.

The business community on both sides of the border were looking forward to the summit to pave the way for improvement in trade ties. But it appears that the captains of industry and commerce will have wait longer to realise their ambition.

An indication of Pakistan's attitude towards the summit vis-a-vis issues such as trade would be available tomorrow when it unveils its export-import policy for 2001-2002.

The Musharraf establishment is also preparing for a hardened stand by New Delhi in view of its postures in the last two days. According to sources, Islamabad was aware of the ripples caused in the Vajpayee Government on account of its decision to invite Hurriyat leaders for the much-talked about ``tea party'' and the subsequent Foreign Office statement denouncing Indian forces for their acts of ``repression and oppression''.

However, there is no change in the position of the military Government on the question of extending an invitation to the Hurriyat delegation for the ``high tea'' being hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi on July 14 in honour of Gen. Musharraf.

All those who matter in Islamabad have been conveyed that while the Musharraf regime fully appreciated New Delhi's ``concerns'', it was in no position to go back on the invitations. It is believed that Pakistani journalists travelling to New Delhi en- route to Agra have been briefed about the invitation. The State- run Pakistan Radio made it a point to announce in the evening bulletin that invitations had already been sent to Hurriyat leaders.

The announcement is significant. On Friday, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman maintained that no invitations had been sent. On Saturday, Gen. Musharraf said that his meeting with the Hurriyat entirely depended on the attitude of the Indian Government.

According to indications now, there is little scope either for a joint statement or press conference at the end of the summit on July 16 morning. Gen. Musharraf appears keen on addressing a news conference at Agra.

A senior official in the Foreign Office told The Hindu that Gen. Musharraf had been advised by the Indian Government to address the conference on his return to Islamabad on the night of July 16. There was, however, no confirmation of the information from the Indian side.

It now appears that on July 15 the first one-to-one meeting between Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee would be a brief one. After a possible 15-minute closed-door discussion, the leaders might be joined by their respective delegations. The second session is likely to be a prolonged one. The possibility of a third one-to-one between the two leaders on the morning of July 16 is not being ruled out.

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