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'India ready to deal with
any Pak dispensation'

"We have to deal with the government of the day," an external affairs ministry spokesperson said in response to questions on India's reaction to developments in Islamabad on Wednesday.

'We have never stated that we will not talk to Pakistan' whether or not the military was ruling, she said.

New Delhi also made it clear it did not want to score debating points with Islamabad when its reaction was sought on an official Pakistani statement regretting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's assertion that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.

Vajpayee and Musharraf, during a telephonic conversation on Wednesday, had agreed that rhetoric on both sides needed to be toned down ahead of the dialogue.

To questions on Islamabad terming Kashmir as the core issue, the spokesperson said there would be focus on all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan during the summit at Agra.

The spokesperson also offered no comment on Britain and the Commonwealth terming as 'unfortunate' and 'setback' to democracy Musharraf's decision to appoint himself as president.

She said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), of which India was not a member, was dealing with the issue of restoration of democracy in Pakistan. CMAG is scheduled to review the situation in September.

"As a member of the Commonwealth, India would go by whatever consensus develops," she said. Pakistan was suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth after Musharraf ousted the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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