Doubts over PM's visit

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 12. With the United States grappling with the fallout of the terrorist strikes on its two major cities, the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session in New York may be rescheduled.

That would mean that there are ample chances that the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, may not visit New York on September 22 as scheduled. However, a clearer picture about his visit is likely to emerge only BY Thursday after a formal communication from the U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, is received.

At a press conference in the evening, the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, said the U.N. Children's conference, which was to begin on Tuesday, may not take place as the U.S. authorities WERE demanding that the U.N. Secretariat be shifted from its present location. He said that his telephonic conversation with Mr. Annan, which had been scheduled during the day, had not materialised so far.

In a day of fast-paced development, the Prime Minister said that India was ready for a partnership with the U.S. to spearhead a global campaign against terrorism. The need for concerted international action against terrorism also came up during the half an hour call on Mr. Vajpayee by the visiting Israeli National Security Adviser, Mr. Uzi Dayan.

In a letter to the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush, the Prime Minister said that India was ``ready to cooperate in the investigations into this crime and to strengthen our partnership in leading international efforts to ensure that terrorism never succeeds again''.

Amplifying the Prime Minister's position, the External Affairs Minister said that India saw terrorism in its global dimensions as the phenomena encompassed ``360 degrees of the azimuth.'' Besides, he stressed that the Indian approach towards terrorism was not individual-centered.

The statement assumes importance as it indicates that New Delhi is opposed to linking a counter-terrorism drive with the fate of the Saudi fugitive, Osama bin Laden, alone.

The External Affairs Minister indicated that India was inclined to endorse the dominant view in the U.S. that Tuesday's attacks were masterminded by Osama bin Laden's Al Qida group. Highly- placed sources here said that it was difficult to conceive that the attacks had been carried out by any other terrorist group based in West Asia.

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