International
Advani to brief U.S. leaders on Indo-Pak. relations
By Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, JAN. 8. The Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, is arriving here for intensive and extensive talks starting on Wednesday with senior members of the Republican administration. While the focus of the discussions will be on terrorism and cooperation between the United States and India on meeting this threat globally and regionally, the two sides are also expected to deal with the immediate situation in the subcontinent.
``American leaders will get a very good perspective from Mr. Advani. The Bush administration is very keen on knowing the current state of India-Pakistan relations,'' said a senior Indian diplomat, making the point that Mr. Advani would spell out India's steps as well as its expectations on the terrorism front.
Diplomats here point out that this is the first-ever official visit of a Home Minister. The last time Mr. Advani visited Washington in an official capacity was about 11 years ago as the Leader of the Opposition.
Coming at the invitation of the Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, Mr. Advani is expected to have wide-ranging discussions with top officials of the administration, including the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the National Security Adviser, Condoleeza Rice. Appointments with the President and the Vice- President have also been sought.
Aside from his meeting and working lunch with Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Advani is also expected to confer with the leaders here on a range of issues related mostly with cooperation on terrorism; he will also discuss the tracking down of terrorists with the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
He will take part in a briefing by Sandia Labs, which has rich experience in the realm of homeland security.
He will also meet the American Jewish leadership. Many senior Indian leaders have met Jewish leaders during their visits here.
Mr. Advani is expected to touch on a number of bilateral issues with a view to fine-tuning the level of cooperation between the two countries. The issues expected to be discussed include the extradition treaty, the Joint Working Group on terrorism, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and the Joint Initiative on Cyber Terrorism.
Mr. Advani is also expected to raise with the U.S. Justice Department the issue of Indian nationals who have been detained since the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York.
About 20 persons of Indian origin are under detention in the U.S., most of them for visa violations. Only two are detained on terrorism-related charges, which are yet to be substantiated.
The Bush administration says it is doing everything under the Vienna Convention and that it is not mandatory to inform foreign missions of the details unless the detainees themselves ask for consular access.
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