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Musharraf to visit New Delhi
on July 9: Jang

However, a spokesman of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad said dates were still being worked out and they would be announced simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, as soon as they were finalised.

Pakistani officials were not available for comment on the report.

Quoting highly reliable and diplomatic sources, Jang said that dates for Musharraf's visit have been finalised through diplomatic channels, but a formal announcement would be made simultaneously from New Delhi and Islamabad after India's approval of the date.

It said Musharraf would leave for India on July 9 and return to Islamabad after spending three days in New Delhi. The newspaper also quoted acting Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Sudhir Vyas as saying that no special team was supposed to visit Islamabad to finalise details of Musharraf's visit.

In Delhi, High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi said the summit will provide a "great opportunity" to move into a "more constructive phase" of Indo-Pak relations.

"The chief executive is coming here with an open mind and is willing to discuss various issues," Qazi said after a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi.

Describing the visit as "a great opportunity to move into a more constructive phase of Indo-Pak relationship", Qazi said the people of Pakistan attached high importance to the success of the visit.

"We welcome the decision of Vajpayee to invite the chief executive and are very supportive of it," he said, adding that there was a positive response to the meeting in Pakistan.

Maintaining that he was meeting "eminent persons" ahead of the visit, the envoy said the dates for the summit had not been finalised.

On whether Musharraf was scheduled to address a joint session of Parliament, he said it depended on the dates of the visit.

Details of the visit would be discussed between the two foreign offices, Qazi said, adding that the exercise would begin after the dates were formally announced.

Qazi also met former prime ministers P V Narisimha Rao, V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral, besides Left leaders Sitaram Yechurry and A B Bardhan.

On the need for such meetings, Pakistan High Commission sources said, "They have been organised to convey Pakistan's stand and to find out expectations of these leaders."

They said the Indian leaders were of the opinion that talks were a continuous process and hoped that there would be a positive outcome from the summit between Vajpayee and Musharraf.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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