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Upset Musharraf is still optimistic

K J M Varma in Islamabad

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has said that he was upset with the outcome of the Agra summit, but at the same time asserted that the talks were not deadlocked and he was hopeful of resolving his country's differences with India.

"I am upset but still optimistic and determined to pursue the process of dialogue with India," he told a joint meeting of the Cabinet and the National Security Council on Wednesday, reports in the Pakistani media said on Thursday.

General Musharraf stated at the meeting that there was no deadlock in the talks and both countries would continue to hold a dialogue to sort out differences, the Dawn quoted Information Secretary Sayed Anwar Mehamood as saying.

He also said Gen Musharraf would be sending a formal invitation to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to visit Pakistan. Vajpayee had informally accepted the invitation when Gen Musharraf extended it during his visit to India.

Giving details of the meeting, Mehamood said, "The president said that he was hopeful that talks would soon resume between the two sides." The military ruler also hoped to meet Vajpayee at the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September.

Gen Musharraf informed the Cabinet and the NSC that although no declaration could be issued at the end of the summit, the talks went off well and there was renewed understanding on both sides on many issues, including Kashmir, according to the daily.

Citing the examples of Palestine and Northern Ireland, where negotiations have been going on for decades to achieve peace, Gen Musharraf said resolving such issues took time.

According to another daily, The Nation, Gen Musharraf told the members of the two bodies that consensus was reached between the two delegations over the joint declaration, but it could not signed because of the Indian leadership's "change of mind".

"Though the summit could not produce a joint declaration, the nine-point draft will help provide a basis for future dialogue," it said, quoting sources.

Gen Musharraf also hoped External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh would visit Pakistan in a couple of months.

The general also told the meeting that Kashmir was the focus of his discussions and would remain so in future engagements with India.

Musharraf is scheduled to address his first post-summit press conference in Islamabad on Friday and then begin a series of meetings to apprise political parties, Islamic clerics, leaders of Pakistan-based Kashmir leaders, women and student groups, whom he met prior to his visit, on the summit.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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