M A I N   N E W S

Summit agenda flexible: Pak

New Delhi, June 18
As senior officials of India and Pakistan are giving final touches to the Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit here in July, India’s High Commissioner to Islamabad Vijay Nambiar met Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Brajesh Mishra and other officials to brief them on various aspects of bilateral ties.

Mr Nambiar, who was called here for talks, had given his assessment to senior government functionaries on various issues that are expected to come up during the Vajpayee-Musharraf summit.

He has already met External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said “mutually agreed dates are yet to be finalised” and would be announced once they were finalised by the two countries.

ISLAMABAD: The agenda for the coming talks between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf would be based on the policy of flexibility and no specific agenda has so far been set, Major-Gen Rashid Quereshi, spokesman for General Musharraf, said here.

‘’General Musharraf is going to India with an open mind and he will have no objection to whatever India wants to talk,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Quazi Hussain Ahmad has said General Musharraf has no mandate to visit India and he has no right to take a decision of national interests as he has come to power through the back door.

A spokesman for the Pakistan People’s Party said Ms Benazir Bhutto would not talk to General Musharraf if she was invited to discuss the Kashmir issue. Acting chief of the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz group Javed Hashmi said the coming summit would not yield any result.

Secretary-General of the Muslim League Saranjan Khan said the talks could not be successful unless the government enjoyed the confidence of the people.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Monday said it would not insist on any pre-condition for the inclusion of Kashmir during the coming Vajpayee-Musharraf talks if India accepted it as the ‘’main hurdle’’.

“The summit between India and Pakistan will make every possible effort to continue the talks without indulging in rigidity,’’ Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq said. UNI