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Decks being cleared for PM-Sharif meeting in New York
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 6
It’s now becoming increasingly clear that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may after all meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly probably on September 29.

High-level contacts between interlocutors of the two countries during the past 10 days or so clearly indicate that the two sides are discussing the broad agenda for the talks between the two leaders.

In an interview to an Indian television channel, Pakistan PM’s Special Envoy Shaharyar Khan has confirmed that the meeting between the two PMs has been “pencilled in” for September 29 and a final confirmation was awaited.

Khan had last week met India’s Special Envoy for Pakistan S K Lambah in Dubai as part of the ‘Track II’ initiative. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T C A Raghavan also held talks with Pakistan PM’s Special Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz earlier this week in Islamabad. Now External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is scheduled to meet Aziz at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan next week on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet. The meeting is understood to have been sought by the Pakistani side.

While Pakistan has repeatedly expressed its desire for the meeting between the two PMs, India has been quite guarded in responding to any query with regard to the possibility of Manmohan-Sharif talks because of the increased tension in ties following the killing of five Indian soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) last month.

Asked if the meeting was on cards, an official was quite evasive. “A number of bilateral meetings between the PM and other world leaders are planned on the margins of the UNGA…anyhow we are still a little away from the visit to New York,” he added.

Given the accident-prone nature of the India-Pakistan relations, the two sides obviously don’t want any untoward incident in the coming days which could vitiate the atmosphere and kill the prospects of the meeting between the two leaders.

As of now, the Prime Minister will leave here for the US on September 25, a day before his 81st birthday. He will meet President Barack Obama in Washington on September 27 before proceeding to New York to address the UN General Assembly the next day. Sharif is scheduled to address the UNGA on September 27.

Awaiting Confirmation: Sharif envoy

'Still a little away'