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Give me Agra in New York: Musharraf
India reiterates that no dialogue can be held without cross-border terrorism being stopped
ENS & AGENCIES
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28: A day after he said he had asked the US to delink Kashmir from the campaign against terrorism, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today called for resumption of the Indo-Pak summit in New York with the format discussed at the aborted Agra summit. Visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, meanwhile, urged the two neighbours to pick up the threads left loose in the city of Taj.
Addressing a joint press conference with Schroeder, Musharraf said ‘‘it is our desire that the two countries should resume a dialogue on the format agreed at Agra which should be revived’’.
In the past few days, the Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, have gone back to the pre-Agra days and said that a dialogue at this stage would prove to be quite futile. Reacting to the General’s statement, an MEA spokesperson pointed out that it was ‘‘India (which had) started the dialogue process. We started it in Lahore and followed it up in Agra. We don’t have anything against a dialogue, but unless Pakistan shows a demonstrable change on the ground and cross-border terrorism diminishes and stops, a dialogue is not going to get us very much forward.’’
Schroeder arrives in Delhi
NEW DELHI: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrived in New Delhi from Islamabad for a three-day visit. Schroeder, who’s the first German chancellor to visit India since 1993, landed here along with, among others, Interior minister Otto Schily and Economic minister Warner Muller. He will meet President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his stay. India and Germany will sign several loan agreements for a solar power unit at Mathania in Rajasthan and other projects with a total volume of Rs 717 crore. (PTI)
At another joint Press conference with the visiting Dutch premier, Vim Kok, Gen Musharraf had emphasised the need for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir imbroglio in line with UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Musharraf’s comments followed reports that he had decided to go to the US on a five-day visit, starting on November 8, to address the UN General Assembly and meet world leaders, including President George Bush.
Significantly, Vajpayee is scheduled to begin his US tour on November 9 to meet Bush and address the General Assembly. Musharraf has planned to go to US on November 8 though he is scheduled to address the General Assembly only on November 11, unlike Vajpayee a day earlier.
Accusing India of threatening peace in South Asia by deploying troops along the Line of Control after the September 11 terrorist strikes in the US, Gen Musharraf said ‘‘India is seeking hegemony and the role of a regional power.’’ |
