M A I N   N E W S

PM, Musharraf urged to sort out differences

United Nations, June 28
In the run up to the Indo-Pak summit, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has written to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistani President, Mr Pervez Musharraf, urging them to make a “genuine search” for solutions to all the problems between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Disclosing this at a press conference here yesterday, Mr Annan said the two leaders would not be able to solve all problems in the first meeting but it was an important step which had full support of the people in the region and around the world.

Expressing the hope that the two countries would stick with the negotiations till they are able to sort out their differences, Mr Annan said both leaders were going into the meeting with “right spirit and very positive expectations.”

“I am extremely happy that they are going to meet,” he added. PTI

Agra hotels checked for security
Ravi Bhatia
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28
A team of senior Pakistani and Indian officials is scrutinising the feasibility report on the three five-star hotels in Agra which are in the race for hosting the scheduled July 14-16 summit between Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The feasibility report which was prepared jointly by a team of security, intelligence, Agra administration and Ministry of External Affairs officials was submitted on Tuesday.

While officials were reluctant to divulge the details of the report, sources said that it basically focussed on the core areas of facilities available, adequate space for equipment and entourage of the visiting head of state, security, accessibility and availability of alternative emergency exit routes.

According to the sources, the final decision will be left to the Pakistani officials. The role of the Indian experts would be only recommendatory, a senior official said. A team of senior Pakistani security and intelligence officials is already here and in touch with its Indian counterparts in what is termed as a “friendly liaison”.

These sources maintained that security would be the overriding criterion in the selection of the venue since the Pakistani authorities were obsessed with the security of General Musharraf, specially after he became the President on June 20.

General Musharraf himself is said to be extremely security-conscious and some intelligence officials claimed that he had yet to overcome the embarrassment caused by the release of what was then described as the Beijing tapes shortly before the Kargil intrusion while he was on an official visit to China. The tapes alluded to his telephonic conversation from his hotel room in Beijing with his then Chief of Staff.

Meanwhile, in order to save time, the security and intelligence agencies have already started the process of whetting the staff of the three contending hotels, the Amar Vilas, Jaypee Palace and Mughal Sheraton. The antecedants of the employees are being verified in cooperation with the management of the hotels.

“The idea is to have everything ready just in case the decision is taken at the last minute for security reasons. We do not want to be taken by surprise”, a senior officer said.

The managements of the three hotels are also leaving no stone unturned in their bid to upgrade their facilities so that they can also draw mileage from the stay of the leaders on their premises. The Vajpayee-Musharraf summit in itself is unprecedented and the fact that Agra has been chosen as a retreat for the two leaders has another dimension to the fabled town of the Taj Mahal.

APHC leaders meet Musharraf

Islamabad, June 28
Hurriyat leaders in Pakistan and other separatist leaders today met President Pervez Musharraf to give their views on the Kashmir issue.

Mr Musharraf today called these leaders to elicit their views on his forthcoming summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi starting July 14.

The Kashmiri leaders gave full mandate to President Musharraf to conduct the talks.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Mr Sultan Mahmood Choudhry, while talking to newspersons after the talks, said his colleagues were fully convinced that President Musharraf could plead the cause of Kashmir. The Kashmiri leaders also gave suggestions to him to pursue the talks and bring about positive results.

Mr Choudhry said the Kashmir issue had achieved an international importance and there has been worldwide momentum in various countries in support of it. He said parliamentary committees had been set up in various European countries to support the cause of Kashmiris. UNI