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Failure of Agra summit unfortunate: Omar

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Omar Abdullah has described the breaking down of talks between India and Pakistan as unfortunate. Talking to rediff.com on Tuesday morning in New Delhi, Abdullah Jr said that though the summit was a failure, the two nations can look ahead to another round of talks in the near future.

"It is unfortunate that the talks have ended without a declaration. I am disappointed on that count. But the brighter side is that there is at least a roadmap for peace," he said.

Asked if he was happy that his father Dr Farooq Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had not been blamed for the failure of the summit, Omar said, "There is nothing to be happy about it. Kashmir has been suffering for the last 12 years and we want peace to return to the valley.

Pakistan has been blaming India for breaking down of the talks, but the Indians say that the actions of President Pervez Musharraf, particularly his breakfast meeting with the editors, was the last straw.

"I guess there were irritants on both the sides. The Pakistani president invited the Hurriyat Conference for tea. We ignored it despite the fact this was against the wishes of the host country. But his meeting with the senior editors proved to be the last straw that broke the camel's back. But they too had some serious complaints to make," the minister said.

He said the fact that Prime Minister Vajpayee had accepted the invitation of President Pervez Musharraf to visit Pakistan and the two leaders had a prolonged farewell meeting before the president left for his country was a good indication.

"I would say that the whole thing ended on a conciliatory note. Prime Minister Vajpayee can always pick up the phone and talk to President Musharraf to sort out the irritants. Maybe they would do better to hold talks away from the glare of the media. Various television channels gave us coverage of the event and discussed each and every aspect of the talks. I guess we would have to put up with it," he said.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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