NEW DELHI, Feb 3 — Pakistan chief executive Gen Pervez Musharraf’s telephonic talk with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday focussing on the catastrophic earthquake in Gujarat does not necessarily raise the prospects of a summit between the two leaders in the immediate or medium term.

Circumspection is the buzzword in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs even though General Musharraf’s gesture in offering sympathies and promptly rendering humanitarian assistance for the quake affected in the country’s second most-industrialised state has been appreciated.

Authoritative sources maintain Pakistan has a lot to do in rectifying the ground realities in aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism. As of now there is nothing to indicate that Islamabad is creating a conducive atmosphere for resuming the bilateral dialogue put on hold after Pakistan’s misadventure in Kargil in 1999.

New Delhi has always taken the initiative in giving a push to the dialogue process but Pakistan has consistently negated these endeavours by stabbing India in the back. Therefore, the Vajpayee Government is doubly cautious and would rather wait till Pakistan reins in the fundamentalist elements and so-called jehadis fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir.

Though Mr Vajpayee has assiduously steered clear of coming face-to-face with General Musharraf since the latter engineered the coup against the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan in October 1999, there is a growing feeling in NDA circles that adopting such an approach for a long period might be counter-productive.

Intense behind-the-scenes activity is on to find some way of restarting the Indo-Pak talks. As a first step, possibilities are being explored about the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries getting together and picking up the threads of the composite dialogue.

Discussions are also under way to put the fledgling SAARC Heads of State or Government meeting on track which has remained dormant at India’s insistence since the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Pakistan.

It is generally perceived that with some major international conferences slated later this year requiring Mr Vajpayee’s presence, it might just not be possible to duck having an interface with General Musharraf all the time. And much water has flowed under the bridge since the coup in Pakistan.

Referring to yesterday’s telephonic talk between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan’s Chief Executive Officer Gen Pervez Musharraf, a Hurriyat spokesman said that this could lead to a beginning.

He said the Hurriyat wanted “estrangement” between India and Pakistan to lessen and any step that leads to improved relations between the two countries was welcome. The spokesman, however, added that a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem was possible only after Kashmiris were involved in talks.

Meanwhile, senior APHC leaders who are in Delhi these days, are likely to visit Gujarat to express solidarity with the earthquake victims.