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Sushma blames Musharraf for summit failure

Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was criticised by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the media for her "selective" briefing on the Agra summit, has blamed the president for "derailing" the talks.

It was the president's much-publicised telecast of the breakfast meeting with the Indian editors that lead to the failure of the summit, she told a Pakistani daily on Friday.

"Things were derailed the moment the video recording of general sahib's tough talk to a group of senior editors was made available to all the TV channels, who took no time in airing them," she said.

The News daily quoted her as saying that the meetings, like the one President Musharraf had with the editors, were generally kept off the record. "That helps in concealing unpleasant things from public."

Swaraj told the daily that the Indian media initially was not in favour of the government's decision to invite Mushrraf.

"Let me start by saying that most of the newspapers were really upset when our prime minister invited your president for a summit. Everyone was wondering why Vajpayee had invited Musharraf sahib, who did Kargil to us," Swaraj said.

"I personally approached all the senior journalists and made them realise that after extending the invitation it had become India's responsibility to make the summit a success."

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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