The Hindu : Pak. not checking cross-border terrorism, PM tells Bush

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 25, 2003

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Pak. not checking cross-border terrorism, PM tells Bush

By Harish Khare

New York Sept. 24. The United States President, George W. Bush, has described the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as a "man of peace'', according to sources in the Indian delegation. The words of praise came during a luncheon meeting between the American delegation, led by Mr. Bush and the Indian delegation, led by Mr. Vajpayee.

According to these sources, Mr. Bush also appreciated Mr. Vajpayee's Srinagar initiative towards Pakistan. These words of appreciation came within hours of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, using the United Nations General Assembly forum to denounce India over Kashmir.

The two sides discussed the South Asia situation and Mr. Vajpayee is understood to have apprised the Americans of the Indian view that Pakistan remained unhelpful in checking cross-border terrorism.

Besides the situation in the sub-continent, the two sides also discussed Iraq. According to one source, the Americans did not specifically renew its request for Indian troops; rather the accent was on many more countries lending a helping hand in stabilising the situation.

The Indian response was equally vague, including an invocation of the domestic considerations. The American side, according to sources, is aware of the domestic angle.

Iran and China came in for discussion. Also, there was a brief discussion on the so-called trinity subjects — civilian nuclear energy, non-military space programmes and commercial technologies with potential military use.

The Indian side was clearly pleased and described Mr. Bush's invitation for lunch as an "an exceptional gesture.''

The Prime Minister was assisted by the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, the National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, and the Indian Ambassador, Lalit Mansingh. The American side consisted, among others, of the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the National Security Adviser, Condeleezza Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Negroponte, and Robert Blackwill.

PTI reports:

Mr. Bush and Mr. Vajpayee shook hands and posed for photographs before they went into discussions at the hotel hemmed in by high security. After preliminary talks, the parleys continued over lunch.

While Mr. Bush is meeting a number of world leaders during his three-day stay here, he had a bilateral luncheon meeting only with Mr. Vajpayee.

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