M A I N   N E W S

Neighbours not to be prisoners of past
Advani discusses cross-border terrorism
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 14
Initial discussions of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other Indian leaders today indicate that the two troubled neighbours are approaching the Agra summit beginning tomorrow with an open mind and without being “prisoners of the past”.

Both sides did not shy away in agreeing that issues concerning each country should be discussed with all “openness” and the two countries “should keep walking and talking” when they move forward in pursuing peace.

Mr Vajpayee held talks with General Musharraf at Taj Palace Hotel for 10 minutes before the Prime Minister’s lunch.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf (L) talks to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, President of India's main Opposition Congress Party, in New Delhi on Saturday. — Reuters photo Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf (R) shakes hands with Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in New Delhi on Saturday. — Reuters photo

Briefing newspersons about talks between the visiting Pakistani President and the Prime Minister, the External Affairs and Defence Minister and the Home Minister, an official spokesperson, Mrs Nirupma Rao, said both sides stressed the need to move beyond the past, address central adversaries like poverty and economic cooperation.

Stating that the “basic tenor of talks was purposeful and constructive”, the spokesperson said, “there was a realisation on both sides that the journey of peace should be allowed to move forward without any interference and discourage approaches that had not succeeded in the past.”

Giving details of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s call on General Musharraf at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mrs Rao said the minister stressed that the two neighbours should address our greatest adversaries — poverty, want and hunger.

In an obvious reference to the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, Mr Jaswant Singh pointed out that it was important to recognise the contribution of each journey taken in Indo-Pak relations in the past and experiences of those journeys should not be “rejected”.

General Musharraf, according to the spokesperson, agreed with Mr Jaswant Singh’s viewpoint and said “there was a need to rectify”.

Terming Mr Vajpayee’s invitation as “a bold and courageous step”, the Pakistan President more than once admired the Prime Minister for his “statesmanship and courage” for initiating the peace process.

Emerging out of the 20-minute meeting, Mr Jaswant Singh told newspersons that “it would be befitting if we did not selectively reject what we did not like because each of those journeys (Shimla and Lahore) have contributed to addressing complex issues of India and Pakistan relations”.

“There was a need for more cooperation rather than confrontation between India and Pakistan”, Union Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani told General Musharraf when he called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr Advani also raised issues of peace and security and conveyed the country’s concerns over militancy and cross-border terrorism.

In an obvious reference to Pakistan’s insistence of Kashmir being the core issue in Indo-Pak relations, the Home Minister said, “common concerns of the people should not be held hostage to a single issue”.

Mr Advani took up issues related to extradition of criminals from Pakistan, including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim wanted in several cases here. He also expressed concern over criminals using Pakistan as a safe haven.

General Musharraf took note of what the Home Minister stated at the 20-minute meeting and said neither side should shy away from the issues concerning each other.

Both sides agreed that the Agra summit was a good opportunity to convey overall concerns and any positive outcome of the dialogue would be directly beneficial to the people, Mrs Rao said. She, however, denied that Mr Advani either raised the issue of the Kandahar hijacking or handing over a list of 12 criminals for extradition from Pakistan.

The two leaders spent initial five minutes reminiscing their childhood days and shared notes on their common school. Mr Advani later briefed the Prime Minister about his meeting with General Musharraf before the lunch hosted by Mr Vajpayee in honour of the visiting Pakistani President.

Informing about the meeting between General Musharraf and Vice- President Krishan Kant, the spokesperson said the latter emphasised that the core issue between the two countries was “trust” and there was no shortcut in building confidence between the two countries.

Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi also had a meeting with the Pakistan President.