'PM must go to Pak. with agenda'

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, AUG. 23. The senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Natwar Singh, has expressed the fear that India's emergence as a major buyer of arms in the region might trigger off an arms race. ``Only improved relations with our neighbours, especially Pakistan, could salvage the situation.''

``It has been partly our making. Pakistan became a nuclear power because the Vajpayee Government's bravado in testing another nuclear bomb. They (Pakistan) got even with India though we did not gain much from the tests,'' Mr. Singh said.

Mr. Singh, who was here for a day on Wednesday, told The Hindu that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was yet to come out of the Agra summit blues. ``The Government is speaking in different voices. There is no clear direction on the future plan of action. In fact, Parliament too has not been told what went wrong during the talks.''

He accused the Government of inviting Gen. Musharraf for talks without getting an agenda ready. Things would have been different if Mr. Vajpayee had carried an agenda. ``Let the dialogue continue. But they should carry an agenda with them next time,'' he said.

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