PM declines Clinton's invitation
New Delhi, July 4 (HT Correspondent)
PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee has declined an invitation from President Bill Clinton to visit the US “at an early date,” saying it would not be possible for him to undertake such a visit “at this stage.”
The invitation for the visit, apparently to discuss the Kargil crisis, was extended by Mr Clinton during a telephonic talk last night. And the invitation came on the eve of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's own visit to Washington. During the 10-minute conversation, Mr Clinton is said to have briefed Mr Vajpayee about his talk with Mr Sharif earlier and the latter's visit to Washington.
A spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry, briefing newspersons here today, said that Mr Vajpayee informed Mr Clinton that it would not be possible for him “to accept his kind invitation for the present.” It's not convenient at this stage, the Prime Minister reportedly told him. The spokesman, responding to queries, said the US President's invitation was “bilateral” in nature and that it had “no relation whatsoever to Mr Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington.” The spokesman stonewalled questions on whether Mr Clinton had given indication of any Pakistani proposal to withdraw its troops and mercenaries. “There is nothing more at the moment. Details of such conversations are privileged information,” he said.
Commenting on Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz's latest “call for a dialogue,” the spokesman said that Islamabad was resorting to a “blatant attempt to obscure, conceal and divert attention” from its brazen aggression. In the process, it was attempting to buy time. As the spokesman put it, it was “another instance of sophistry in keeping with Pakistan's long-standing deception and propaganda.” In all this, Islamabad was making a vain bid to project itself as “reasonable and peace-loving.”
What is required today is not dialogue, but a complete withdrawal of the Pakistani aggression and restoration of status quo ante on the Line of Control (LoC), he said. But, there was not the slightest sign that Islamabad was taking any steps towards that end, the spokesman stated. While the Indian forces were making steady progress in evicting the armed intruders, Pakistan was continuing with its full-fledged military operation, involving its own Army regulars, terrorists and mercenaries.
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