Jaswant-Sattar meet likely in New York

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, NOV. 2. India today said a meeting between the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, and his Pakistani counterpart, Mr. Abdul Sattar, could take place on the sidelines of the coming U.N. General Assembly session in New York, but ruled out the possibility of an interaction between the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Asked to comment on the possibility of a meeting of the two Foreign Ministers, the Foreign Secretary, Ms. Chokila Iyer, said today the ``programme of the two Foreign Ministers in not clear. India's commitment to the process of dialogue remains.''

Briefing the press on the coming visit of Mr. Vajpayee to Russia, the U.S. and Britain, Ms. Iyer said she had nothing to add to the Prime Minister's recent clarification against holding a meeting with Gen. Musharraf at New York.

Ms. Iyer was non-committal on the possibility of a meeting between the two heads during the SAARC summit which may be held in Kathmandu in January. ``There is a possibility of a SAARC summit in Kathmandu in the first week of January. If that happens, all (Heads of Government) will be present.''

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