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Manmohan-Musharraf talks conclude on a warm note

     New Delhi: Holding on to their respective stated positions and engaging in a bit of give and take, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded their one-to-one talks and the delegation-level talks that followed at the Hyderabad House here today in an atmosphere that was described by official sources as "very warm and cordial". Wearing a grey check suit, Musharraf warmly shook hands with the Prime Minister Singh who was attired in his usual white kurta- pyjama with a blue waistcoat and blue turban before they went in for the parleys at the Hyderabad House. They also posed for the photographers. Dr. Sanjaya Baru, the Prime Minister's adviser on media affairs, said that all issues between India and Pakistan came up for discussion between Musharraf and Dr.Singh during the delegation- level talks that lasted over an hour. He said that the one-to-one meeting was followed by restricted- level meeting at which the two leaders were joined by their Foreign Ministers. The talks were wide-ranging and held in a "very warm atmosphere," Baru said, adding that a formal statement would be read out by the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries later in the day.

     The Indian delegation at the talks included External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukerjee, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, National Security Advisor M K Narayan, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary T K A Nair, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and India's High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri was among the Pakistani delegates at the talks. Before going for the talks, both Musharraf and Singh watched the last one day cricket match between the two countries for over an hour at Ferozeshah Kotla grounds. "The two leaders watched the very exciting start to the cricket match. They applauded the performance of both sides," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Navtej Sarna said. After the restricted-level talks, the leaders headed for Rashtrapati Bhavan where a lunch has been hosted by President A P J Abdul Kalam. President Musharraf set the tone for Sunday's meeting when he said at a banquet on Saturday night that the parleys should not be "swept under the carpet". In his speech, Dr.Singh said that there was a need for both countries to carry forward the peace process and fight the menace of terrorism jointly. Musharraf said India and Pakistan should seize the "unique opportunity" to resolve Kashmir and all other outstanding issues. "Failure is no more an option," he said. The Prime Minister said time has come to find an enduring solution to all problems between the two countries. "The peace process and the composite dialouge need to be carried forward with even greater determination. However, in order to take forward and sustain the dialogue process, acts of terrorism must be prevented and we must together fight the scourge of terrorism in our region," he said in his banquet speech.

You don't get a result by seeing a match: Musharraf  (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: "You don't get a result by seeing a match". These were the first reactions of visiting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as took off from the Taj Mansingh hotel in Central Delhi to watch the sixth and final one-day international between the Indian and Pakistan cricket teams at refurbished Ferozeshah Kotla grounds early on Sunday morning. The drive to the ground was expectedly smooth, what with the Delhi administration having pulled out all stops to clear all impediments coming in the way of hosting the prestigious match in the weeks before its eventual staging. The route was completely devoid of people or traffic, as security personnel took every precaution to ensure an incident-free arrival at the grounds. The black Mercedes carrying the Pakistan President and his wife Sehba entered the grounds and parked itself right in front of the air-conditioned enclosure from where Pakistan's first couple were to watch the match along with Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, the other Delhi bigwigs and key officials of the Delhi District and Cricket Association (DDCA). Musharraf was received by the Prime Minister. It was a historic occasion, as the leaders of the two nations shook hands with both teams at the start of the series-deciding match.

     Clad in a grey suit, Musharraf looked relaxed and was all smiles as he expressed his best wishes to the players and the officials. Musharraf, who had hosted the teams a party during India's visit to the neighbouring nation last year, then saluted the capacity crowd who responded with a roaring cheer. Singh, in traditional Punjabi dress, was accompanied by Arun Jaitley, DDCA President and BJP leader, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, BCCI President, Rajeev Shukla, BCCI Vice-President, and Shaharyar Khan, PCB Chairman. At the packed Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, the visiting Pakistani leader sat with Dr Singh and a host of Indian leaders including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri to witness the action on the cricket field. It was the second time a Pakistani leader had come to India to watch an international cricket match between the two teams. In 1987, late Zia ul Haq was present at a Test match in Jaipur.

     Earlier, speaking to reporters at the hotel before leaving for the venue, Musharraf refused to predict the outcome of the match. "Pata nahi. Khel mein result niklega, dekhne se result nahi niklega ("I don't know. In a game there is a result. You don't get a result by seeing a match.") Sitting in a bullet-proof enclosure, Gen Musharraf could be seen talking to Dr Singh as the match began. Sehba Musharraf, the wife of the Pakistan President, sat in the company of Sonia Gandhi. Commandos and thousands of uniformed and plainclothes police personnel were deployed in and around the stadium as the authorities have made elaborate security arrangements for the match. Hundreds of Pakistani fans have also arrived to catch the final moments of the nearly one-and-a-half-month tour of the Pakistan team. Security was tight and spectators had to reach the venue two hours before the start of the match. Musharraf is expected to be at the stadium for about two hours before he gets down to his other engagements. The Pakistan President arrived here last evening after offering prayers at the dargah of sufi saint Kwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.

India releases 156 Pakistani fishermen (Go To Top)

    Gandhinagar: India has released 156 Pakistani fishermen as a goodwill gesture coinciding with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Delhi. The fishermen were released from the Jamnagar, Kutch and Rajkot jails, and they included eight minors. They will be taken to Amritsar today and handed over to the Pakistani authorities. The released prisoners hoped that the Pakistan government would reciprocate to the Indian government's decision to release them. So far this year, Pakistan has released 794 Indian prisoners in two phases. All prisoners were arrested last year after they wandered into the Indian territory.

Indo-Pak JBC to boost trade (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India and Pakistan today agreed to set up a joint business council (JBC) to accelerate bilateral trade between the two countries. It was also decided that the launch of the rail link between Munnabao in Rajasthan and Khokrapar in Sindh would take place in December. The decisions were taken at the talks between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held at Hyderbad House. The talks, which included a one-to-one session between Musharraf and Dr. Singh and delegation-level deliberations lasted for approximately two hours. The two sides also decided to increase the frequency of Srinagar- Muzaffarabad bus service, official sources said. "we want to promote trade and any problem that is coming in the way we certainly want to resolve them," the Indian Prime Minister was quoted as saying during his meeting with President Musharraf. The Pakistani side is said to have highlighted the fact that it was not benefitted from the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to it by New Delhi as the Indian tariff and non-tarrif barriers were not helping in enhancing the trade links. The Pakistani side particularly mentioned textiles while complaining of non-tariff barriers. According to the sources, the Prime Minister assured Pakistan that India would look into the problem.

     On the controversial Baghliar dam project in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda District, Pakistan maintained that it wanted the issue to be handled by the World Bank. Pakistan has approached the World Bank for arbitration. The two sides also discussed the issue of reopening each other's Consulates in Mumbai and Karachi. The Prime Minister's media adviser, Dr. Sanjaya Baru, said that all issues between India and Pakistan came up for discussion between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the delegation-level talks today. The talks were wide-ranging and held in a "very warm atmosphere," Sanjaya Baru, Media Advisor to the Prime Minister, said. Before going for the talks, both Musharraf and Singh watched the last one day cricket match between the two countries for over an hour at Ferozeshah Kotla grounds. "The two leaders watched the very exciting start to the cricket match. They applauded the performance of both sides," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Navtej Sarna said. After the talks, the leaders and their respective delegations attended a lunch at Rashtrapati Bhavan hosted by President A P J Abdul Kalam.

Musharraf invites Manmohan, Sonia Gandhi to Pakistan (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has extended a formal invitation to both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to visit Pakistan. Informed sources said that the invitation to the Prime Minister was made soon after the two leaders sat down for one-to-one and delegation-level talks on a wide range of bilateral issues here. Singh accepted the invitation for visit, the dates for which will be worked out through diplomatic channels, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said. The Prime Minister described as "very positive, fruitful and forward looking" his meeting with Musharraf which got extended by 45 minutes from the scheduled two hours. Due to prolonging of the discussions, Musharraf's luncheon meeting with President A P J Abdul Kalam was also delayed. The invitation to Sonia Gandhi was given at the Taj Mansingh Hotel when she called on the Pakistan president this evening.

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