Chance of meeting Musharraf in Kathmandu: PM

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today hinted at the possibility of a meeting with the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Kathmandu, in January 2002.

``If the SAARC summit is held in Kathmandu and I go there and Gen. Musharraf also comes there, we could meet... Mulakaat to ho hi sakti hai. (A meeting is always possible),'' Mr. Vajpayee said, talking to presspersons informally at a luncheon hosted by the BJP spokesman and MP, Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

These were Mr. Vajpayee's first remarks on the possibility of a meeting with Gen. Musharraf after his return from a visit abroad, during which he had addressed the 56th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and also met the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush. Though Gen. Musharraf was also in New York at the time and had addressed the U.N. General Assembly, the two leaders did not meet.

Mr. Vajpayee had, in fact, ruled out a meeting with the General in New York before leaving India. The two leaders have not met since the Agra summit in July.

The Prime Minister, who initially appeared reticent, touched briefly on issues of current importance - the Afghan situation, terrorism, and influx of refugees from Bangladesh - when prodded.

India had a role to play in Afghanistan, Mr. Vajpayee said, adding that New Delhi was the first to send its mission to Kabul. ``We are playing our role. Our mission has already landed in Kabul and it is getting us a lot of appreciation from the world community.'' Asked if the Taliban's fall would have an impact on cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Vajpayee said:

``We will have to see. We are fighting terrorism on our own and we are also helping in the building of a world opinion against terrorism.''

Would he meet the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, scheduled to visit New Delhi from tomorrow? No meeting had been slated with her so far, he said, and inquired from the newspersons about her engagements in the capital.

On the refugee influx from Bangladesh and reports of atrocities on minorities, particularly Hindus, Mr. Vajpayee said:``Our effort is to create a conducive atmosphere which would help people stay in Bangladesh and stop them from coming into our country.''

A large number of Hindus have reportedly fled Bangladesh. They became targets of violence and atrocities after Begum Khaleda Zia's Government was formed in Dhaka.

The issue figured prominently in the Lok Sabha yesterday with the Opposition demanding a statement from the Prime Minister.

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