M A I N   N E W S

PM-Zardari meeting on cards in Iran
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, August 5
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to hold a crucial bilateral meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari later this month on the fringes of the NAM Summit in Iran.

Sources said top officials of the two countries were in touch, trying to fix the meeting at which the two leaders are expected to stock of the relations between their two countries, particularly in the trade and economic field.

Zardari is also expected to renew his invitation to Manmohan Singh to visit his country in November during the Guru Nanak jayanti celebrations. He had last week written to the Indian PM, formally inviting him to Pakistan. The visit, he said, could also provide Singh an opportunity to go to his ancestral place of Gah in Pakistan's Punjab province.

Invite for Pak visit Top officials of the two countries were in touch, trying to fix the meeting of the two leaders at NAM Summit later this month Zardari is expected to renew his invitation to Manmohan Singh to visit his country in November during the Guru Nanak jayanti celebrations. He had last week written to the Indian PM, formally inviting him to Pakistan India is still to decide on PM’s visit as Pakistan has done precious little to bring to justice the perpetrators of 26/11

India has so far not responded to Zardari’s letter as it is still in a dilemma whether the PM should undertake his much-anticipated visit to Pakistan in view of the fact that Islamabad has done precious little to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack.

Sources said the PM's visit has become all the more difficult in the wake of the recent ruling by a Pakistani court, conducting the trial of seven 26/11 suspects, including Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, that the evidence collected by the judicial commission was inadmissible as no cross-examination was allowed.

The PM himself has gone on record to say that he would visit the neighbouring country only if the trip results in a solid outcome.

The civilian government in Pakistan, on the other hand, is keen to host Singh to boost its own sagging public image ahead of the 2013 elections. Zardari had made a similar request to Singh when he had visited India in April for the pilgrimage to Ajmer.

Meanwhile, after weeks of deliberations at the highest level, India has decided that the PM must attend the NAM Summit in Iran, notwithstanding the Islamic republic's current stand-off with the West over its controversial nuclear programme.

Apart from attending the summit, the PM will hold bilateral talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Sources said that by attending the summit at the highest level, India wants to send out a clear message to the international community about its commitment to the NAM process and the relevance of the 120-member body in the present world order.

As far as Iran's nuclear programme is concerned, India has consistently been of the view that the issue should be resolved through talks and not by resorting to harsh measures such as sanctions. At the same time, it has counselled Iran to fulfil its international obligations by cooperating with the IAEA and abiding by its guidelines while pursuing its nuclear programme.

However, it is quite obvious that with the US, Israel and some leading European nations trying to pull out all the stops to isolate Iran, the summit is unlikely to be attended at the highest level by many Arab nations.