The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, June 25, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

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Musharraf to consult PoK leaders
Tribune News Service and agencies

Islamabad, June 24
Pakistan’s military President, General Pervez Musharraf, will consult leaders of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on June 28 on his upcoming summit talks in India on July 14-16, the official Pakistan television PTV reported today.

Leaders of PoK, the APHC and expatriate Kashmiris have been invited to the consultations, the television said.

General Musharraf (58), who assumed the presidency on Wednesday, presumably to strengthen his negotiating position at the summit, has scheduled similar consultations with Pakistani political parties for June 27.

Pakistan has held a series of preparatory meetings both at the ministerial and official-level to finalise a broad agenda for the forthcoming summit on issues like Kashmir, Indo-Iran gas pipeline and extending most favoured nation (MFN) status to India.

Pakistan daily “The Nation” reported that Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar chaired a ministerial meeting this weekend to finalise an agenda on issues like Kashmir, trade and social issues, which were likely to be discussed at the summit.

The issues, which will come up for discussion include bilateral trade, enhancement of cultural relations, fishermen’s problem and visa restrictions. India is also likely to seek MFN status from Pakistan, the report added.

Besides Kashmir, the other issue that figured high on Pakistan’s agenda was the 2,672-km long multi-billions dollar Indo-Iran gas pipeline project from Iran to India, which will pass through Pakistan. Islamabad is expected to actively push for the $ 4.8 billion trans-Pakistan gas pipeline to India, daily Dawn reported.

Quoting diplomatic sources, the daily said Iranian President Mohammad Khatami had directed his Deputy Prime Minister to ensure that Pakistan was “actively engaged” in the pipeline project before the proposed visit of President Musharraf to India.

Meanwhile, Mr Nambiar was briefed by the Commerce Ministry on the trade-related issues, which may be discussed at the India-Pakistan summit.

During the meeting, Mr Nambiar impressed upon the Pakistani minister that the two countries should take up trade-related issues jointly at the coming WTO conference in Doha in September.

Pak security team to visit India
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 24
Keeping in mind the high profile of the Indo-Pakistan summit next month a team of security experts from Pakistan is expected to check the arrangements being made for the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to India from July 14.

According to available reports here, the team of security experts from Pakistan is expected to be here in New Delhi next week. It is likely to carry out an elaborate security drill along with the team of Indian security experts to ensure that there was no untoward incident during the three-day visit.

The Pakistani team is also likely to visit Agra, Jaipur and Ajmer Sharief to check the security arrangements at these places. President Musharraf after a day’s stopover in Delhi, where he would be having an elaborate programme, would be in Agra for the summit and then is expected to visit Jaipur and Ajmer Sharief.

Although the visit of the security teams to check the arrangements for the visiting Heads of State is a common feature before the start of the visit, but more importance is being attached to this visit, as the visit of President Musharraf itself would be a high profile one with the entire world watching. Even a small untoward incident could attract the world attention, besides embarrassing the Indian security agencies.

The visit of this team is likely to be followed by another larger contingent of Pakistani security officials. They are likely to arrive in India sometime in the first week of July to oversee the security apparatus ahead of the summit.

The advance team is expected to visit the ancestral home of President Musharraf, ‘Neharwali Haveli’, where he is expected to pay a visit. Security arrangements along the route to be followed by the President while in the Capital, which ostensibly would be the responsibility of the Delhi police, would also be reviewed.

The Pakistani security officials are likely to hold talks with senior officers of the Delhi police.

The team will visit the three luxury hotels in Agra — Amar Vilas, Jaypee Palace and Mughal Sheraton — which have been shortlisted for President Musharraf’s stay and the summit meeting between him and Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. They are likely to give their opinion about the best available place keeping the facilities and security aspects in mind.

President Musharraf is expected to visit Rajghat and his ancestral home, besides being the chief guest at a ‘high tea’ reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Mr Ashraf Jahangir Qazi.

He will fly to Agra the next morning for the summit-level talks and the one-to-one meeting with Mr Vajpayee is expected to be followed by delegation-level deliberations. A banquet is also likely to be hosted by Mr Vajpayee in Agra. The final round of talks between the two leaders are expected to continue on July 16.

He is then scheduled to take a special flight to Jaipur in the afternoon en-route to Ajmer Sharief. From the Pink City, a helicopter will fly him to the Dargah of Kwaja Moinudeen Chisti at Ajmer Sharief. He is then expected to be back in Jaipur to board a flight back to Islamabad.