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Vajpayee indicated Kashmir would be main issue: Musharraf

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday told editors of Pakistani newspapers that he was given to understand by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that Kashmir would be the main issue on the agenda of the Indo-Pak summit, the editors said.

In his three telephone conversations with Vajpayee during the past few weeks, he had made it clear to Prime Minister Vajpayee on Kashmir being the focus of his talks, editors said.

He had told Vajpayee that statements emanating from Indian leaders that Kashmir belonged to India 'vitiated' the atmosphere for the talks to which the latter blamed the media for distorting the statements, Musharraf added.

He told the editors, with whom he discussed the forthcoming Indo-Pak summit and Pakistan's stand on the Kashmir issue, that he was assured by the Indian leader that it would be Kashmir and all other issues and not the other way. "The difference between the two approaches is like the difference between the sky and earth," state television quoted Musharraf as saying.

Musharraf also said he would try his best to meet Hurriyat Conference leaders during his visit to New Delhi as he believed that they represented the Kashmiri sentiments.

He, however, said it was not his endeavour be involved in a confrontation with the Indian leadership on this issue, according to some of the editors who attended the meeting.

Earlier, Pakistan's official APP news agency reported Musharraf as telling the editors that he had decided to go to New Delhi after sensing the Indian leadership's determination to resolve the Kashmir issue, which was not the case on earlier occasions when the two sides discussed bilateral relations.

He said that Pakistan would join India at the summit with an open mind and an open agenda to have a focused dialogue on Kashmir and all other issues.

Musharraf said he was willing to discuss the bilateral relationship in its entirety and expected reciprocity from the other side.

He assured the editors that he would not have any secret understanding with India on Kashmir, Siachen or any other issue during the forthcoming summit.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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