M A I N   N E W S

India refuses talks with Pak

Kathmandu, January 1
Dashing Pakistani hopes, India today ruled out any bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf during the SAARC summit here, saying that Islamabad was yet to take any “credible” and “visible” action against terrorist outfits behind the December 13 attack on Parliament House.

“No meeting has been planned,” on the fringes of the three-day summit beginning Friday, Ms Chokila Iyer told reporters here.

Her comments came shortly after a senior Pakistani official voiced the hope that the summit retreat on Saturday could present a good opportunity for General Musharraf and Mr Vajpayee to work on “something positive.”

Though India has ruled out structured bilateral meeting between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf or the foreign ministers of the two countries, officials do not rule out chance interaction between the leaders at any of the various opportunities offered by the summit.

Apart from the inaugural function when the leaders belonging to all the seven-member countries would be together, they may also come across each other during the host King Gyanandra’s dinner, the retreat and some other summit engagements.

Interestingly, both the leaders would be staying in the same Soaltee Crown Plaza Hotel.

Official sources said there was no possibility of planned bilateral meetings “at any level”.

There could be “chance” meeting at such summits but nothing much should be read into it, the sources said.

Pakistan has not informed India of any “concrete” steps taken by it to rein in the terrorist outfits operating from that country.

Islamabad’s lack of concern and “cosmetic” measures aimed at duping the international community will not succeed, the sources said when asked about yesterday’s reported arrest of the LeT leader.

“There has been no credible and visible action from that side”, the sources said.

Ms Iyer said she did not hold bilateral talks with her Pakistani counterpart Inamu Haq on the sidelines of the SAARC Standing Committee meeting here as neither side sought them.

“I had no plans for such a meeting,” Ms Iyer said when asked why there was no bilateral meeting with Mr Haq while she had such talks with her counterparts from other SAARC countries.

Ms Iyer said her meetings with other foreign secretaries took place after requests were made from one side or the other.

“Both sides (India and Pakistan) did not seek a meeting. There was no interaction on bilateral issues,” Ms Iyer said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan today faced some embarrassing moments when the SAARC Standing Committee, in its draft declaration, made it mandatory for the member-countries to unequivocally condemn terrorism and stop sponsoring or funding terrorist activities, much on the lines of suggestions made by India.

The committee, which concluded its three-day session here this afternoon, felt that the Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, adopted by the grouping in 1987, had become outdated and will not achieve its purpose, given the fact that terrorism had assumed a greater dimension in the past few years.

The member-countries regretted Pakistan and Bangladesh for their failure to make any changes in their national legislations to bring the laws in conformity with this convention, which has now been referred to a committee of legal experts for suggesting changes.

It approved the United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 on terrorism and asked the member-countries to implement it in letter and spirit. PTI, UNI

Jaswant awaits confirmation
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 1
A change in the Indian stance over a meeting with Pakistan Foreign minister was visible today when the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, just three days before the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, said he was still waiting for confirmation from Abdul Sattar.

The External Affairs Minister, while addressing newsmen after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), said, “I have no such confirmation as yet (of a meeting with Sattar) to share with you”.

On the list of 20 terrorists and criminals who had taken refuge in Pakistan, Mr Jaswant Singh said the list had been communicated to Pakistan and New Delhi would await the response.

The list includes names of Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar, Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Mohammad Hafiz Sayeed and 1993 Mumbai blast masterminds Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon besides the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999.