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Foreign minister, commerce minister
may accompany Musharraf

The delegation accompanying Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf would most likely include Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider, Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq and spokesperson Riaz Ahmed Khan, foreign ministry sources said.

A senior official in the ministry of external affairs (Pakistan desk) told rediff.com that this was indicated by Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Vijay K Nambiar when his was in India to discuss the forthcoming summit.

He also indicated that Pakistan Commerce Minister Abdurrazaq Dawood was also likely to be part of the delegation.

Other key Pakistani government officials likely to be in the delegation are the interior and commerce secretaries.

Nambiar had recently met Sattar, Haider and Dawood in Islamabad soon after General Musharraf accepted Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's invitation for bilateral talks.

The MEA official pointed out that Sattar's presence in Musharraf's delegation would be significant, especially in the context of the easing visa restrictions and other confidence-building measures between the two countries.

The Pakistan commerce minister's inclusion in the delegation from Islamabad is also notable considering the fact that both countries have expressed the wish to increase bilateral trade.

Various official quarters in Islamabad have been expressing the view that if Indo-Pak relations are to be on the upswing, Pakistan must grant the most favoured nation status to New Delhi.

The composition of the advance team from Pakistan to pave the way for the Vajpayee-Mushrraf talks, likely to arrive next week, is not yet known.

The Musharraf government has been assured by South Block that it is sparing no efforts to make the general and his delegation's stay in India as comfortable as possible.

"Of course, the red-carpet will be rolled out to our VVIP guests from Pakistan, but I don't have any details about where they would be staying or the summit venue," said MEA spokeswoman Nirupama Rao.

But in the midst of the ongoing euphoria in both sides of the border pertaining to the Vajpayee-Musharraf talks, a prickly issue has cropped up which could leave a trail of acrimony between them.

Rao told reporters on Thursday that India had not yet received any explanation from Pakistan why the authorities in Islamabad had denied 'consular access' to Indian government officials to meet jailed Indian national Vikas Singh, who had reportedly entered Pakistan from Afghanistan without valid travel documents.

Singh was denied a visa in Pakistan after travelling through 62 foreign countries in 14 years on a peace mission.

Rao pointed out that MEA officials have repeatedly tried to gain consular access to meet Singh, who is lodged in Peshawar jail.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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