Indo-Pak talks
Premiers give conflicting signals
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali expects a 'structured Indo-Pak summit' during a regional South Asia summit opening yesterday, but his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee dashed hopes of formal bilateral talks."There is a possibility that I will have a separate meeting with my Indian counterpart, as the two countries have moved from a dead-end to silver-lining," Jamali told The News daily in an interview published yesterday. He was quoted as saying that he expects 'a structured Indo-Pak summit.' However Vajpayee, who arrived in Islamabad Saturday afternoon for his first visit to Pakistan since the rival neighbours came close to war in 2002, ruled out formal bilateral talks with Pakistan. "In Islamabad, there will be no bilateral talks. We want to give all our energy to making the Saarc (South Asian Association Regional Cooperation) talks successful," Vajpayee told state-run Indian television before his departure for Islamabad. "If we talk about things other than economic issues, then confusion could arise and even these could get blocked." The 12th Saarc summit represents the first chance for Indian and Pakistani leaders to come face-to-face since coming close to war in 2002 after a deadly attack on India's parliament. New Delhi blamed the December 2001 attack on Pakistan-backed militants. Pakistan has denied any involvement. Jamali's expectations stem from the exchange of confidence building measures between the two countries since April last year, when Vajpayee offered a "hand of friendship" to Pakistan and his final bid for peace. "Ice has been broken with the recent spate of confidence-building measures initiated by Pakistan and India," Jamali said. Vajpayee was warmly received by Jamali accompanied by Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, complete with an honoured guard. Indian officials have been downplaying the possibility of talks between the Indian and Pakistani leaders on the sidelines of the summit, saying if at all a meeting takes place, it would be an informal interaction. Pakistan on the other hand has been pressing for kick-starting high-level dialogue during the conference, saying it was an "occasion and opportunity". "People are talking about a one-on-one meeting or otherwise but the meetings will take place ... we are in position to have a dialogue," Jamali said. Indian Foreign Minsiter Yashwant Sinha remained non-committal on possibility of bilateral talks. "We have been repeatedly saying that no meetings have been fixed. Our prime minister is only arriving today and will be here till the 6th (Tuesday)."
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