International
Blair to press for diplomacy
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, JAN. 6. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is expected to urge his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to give diplomacy another chance and try to persuade him to trust the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf. According to reports in the British media, Mr. Blair would argue that since September 11, Gen. Musharraf has come to appreciate international concerns over terrorism better. ``He will explain to Mr. Vajpayee that Gen. Musharraf is a man with whom the West has found it can do business since September 11,'' one report said.
Mahajan remarks, an embarrassment
He would also seek to assuage Indian sensitivities, which observers here note, were rather `dramatically' articulated by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pramod Mahajan, when he told Mr. Blair at the CII meeting in Bangalore on Saturday that: ``People say you have come to cool us down. We have been cool enough for the last 50 years.'' Mr. Mahajan's remarks, seen as an `embarrassment' to Mr. Blair and a `setback' to his `peace' mission, made a splash here overshadowing the British leader's own speech. ``Blair Rebuked for Peace Claims'', ``Angry India Rebukes Peacemaker Blair'', ``Blair's Calming Influence Upsets Indian Minister'', ``Indian Minister Attacks `Interfering' Blair'' were some of the headlines. Reports saw Mr. Mahajan's comments as an indication of New Delhi's `tough' stance and a `warning' to Mr. Blair to tread cautiously.
``The politically charged comments from one of the most vocal members of the Indian Cabinet appeared to be designed to warn Mr. Blair to tread cautiously when he meets his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi,'' The Observer remarked, while The Sunday Times said that Mr. Blair was ``smarting from a public rebuke by an Indian Cabinet Minister''. The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph echoed the perception that Mr. Mahajan's remarks were a `foretaste' of the uphill task ahead of Mr. Blair's `calming' mission.
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