The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, September 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India

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Vajpayee, Bush meeting rescheduled
M. Shakeel Ahmed

New York, September 21
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will meet President George W Bush on September 24, the same day Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf also meets the US leader separately, when the American request for Indian troops in Iraq may also figure.

Mr Vajpayee was earlier scheduled to meet the US President on September 23.

During his meeting with Mr Bush, Mr Vajpayee is expected to highlight the continued Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir despite Musharraf’s commitment to end such activity and dismantle all terrorist infrastructure.

The Musharraf-Bush meeting will be taking place on the same day when the Pakistan President will be addressing the UNGA, a day before Mr Vajpayee addresses the world body.

Besides the need to combat terrorism, developments in Iraq are expected to figure prominently in the discussions Mr Vajpayee will have with Mr Bush on bilateral and international issues.

Sources do not rule out the possibility of Mr Bush raising the issue of India contributing troops for the stabilisation force in Iraq.

India on its part has made clear that there is no clarity as yet on further action on the issue of troops’ contribution by the Security Council.

“When the Security Council does take action, we will take a decision (on the deployment of troops), keeping all aspects in mind, including our internal security situation,” Mr Vajpayee had said.

Mr Vajpayee, who is scheduled to address the 191-member General Assembly on September 25 morning, will also have a series of bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iraq, an issue on which the USA is virtually isolated in the Security Council, and terrorism are among the issues which will figure on the agenda of discussions the Prime Minister will have with world leaders. — PTI

Tight security for PM
Smita Prakash

New York, September 21
All roads lead to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee 30-room suite in the New York Palace Hotel but it is near impossible to get into as the US Administration has thrown a heavy blanket of security around it.

Huge concrete boulders have been put on the roads leading to the hotel and New York Police Department (NYPD) policemen guard it round the clock. There are close to 15 NYPD cars and an equal number of motorcycles patrolling the streets around the hotel. A posse of secret service men has also been posted near the hotel keeping a strict vigil.

Every time the Prime Minister will leave the hotel he will be followed by several NYPD cars and secret service policemen. The hotel hasn’t been closed to the general public but there are security cameras peering in from all directions.

Mr Vajpayee, who checked in on Friday, hasn’t stepped out as yet from his hotel suite. His first public engagement is on Sunday evening when he meets with non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin at a public meeting.

The hotel where the Prime Minister would be staying for a week, is in the heart of midtown Manhatten a few blocks away from the UN plaza and also a few blocks from the Waldorf Astoria where the US President George Bush will stay.

A two-bedroom suite in the hotel can cost more than $ 2000 a night and a deluxe room a cool $ 800. There are at least 30 rooms booked for the PM and his entourage. Besides this, there is a Prime Minister’s Office, a main control room, a meeting room for holding bilateral meetings, a holding room, a VSNL control room and a room for US security. — ANI