'Time-frame yet to be finalised for Vajpayee-Musharraf meet'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 16. Islamabad has received from the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, a formal letter of acceptance of the invitation extended by the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Foreign Office spokesman said.

At a news conference here, the spokesman said the letter merely mentioned the acceptance of the invitation and did not talk about any time-frame. ``It is a normal diplomatic practice to work out the dates of such visits through diplomatic channels.''

On the possible meeting between Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee, the spokesman said the travel plans of the Pakistan President to New York had not been finalised yet. He said Islamabad was not aware of Mr. Vajpayee's programme in New York.

Indications are that Gen. Musharraf would pay an official visit to Cuba before the special session of the United Nations scheduled on September 18 and he intended to stay on till September 26 in New York.

The spokesman while maintaining that he was hesitant to join issue with Mr. Vajpayee on the Agra summit spoke about Islamabad's position on a spate of statements from New Delhi on it.

He took exception to some of the remarks and said there was no gain in ``trying to portray the Agra summit as a non-event'. On the repeated emphasis by New Delhi on Lahore Declaration and Shimla pacts as the only basis for any future understanding, the spokesman said Islamabad was not only committed to the two pacts but also to other instruments such as the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on plebiscite in Kashmir.

Implied in the statement was the suggestion that New Delhi could not be selective on the various pacts between the two countries and if Lahore and Shimla were insisted upon, it would harp on the 1948 U.N. Resolutions.

Quoting Gen. Musharraf, the spokesman said Pakistan favoured the continuation of a dialogue with India on Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiris. He said that while Pakistan had emphasised on the centrality of Kashmir for normalisation of ties with India, it was willing to simultaneously address `other differences' with India.

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Section  : International
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