Date:13/12/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/12/13/stories/2003121306640900.htm

National

Benazir calls on Vajpayee

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 12. The former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, called on the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, this evening, and met the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, over lunch at his Prithviraj Road residence this afternoon.

A spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office said that Ms. Bhutto's meeting with Mr. Vajpayee was in the nature of a courtesy call. Her meeting with Mr. Advani lasted one-and-a-half hours.

Separately, Pakistan's Awami National Party leader, Asfandyar Wali, grandson of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, met the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday.

According to the External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Mr. Sinha briefed Mr. Wali on the recent peace initiatives with Pakistan. He also stressed the need for people-to-people contacts and greater regional economic cooperation.

Mr. Wali is said to have reiterated the importance of the ANP's traditional links with India. The ANP leader said that his party stood for a secular, moderate and tolerant democracy in Pakistan.