November 3, 2001	Saturday	Shaba’an 16, 1422

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NEW DELHI, Nov 2: Almost like a one-day cricket match, the leaders of India and Pakistan are keeping the world tantalized about an as-yet-possible last minute meeting that everyone who is not a rightwing Hindu hardliner wants them to have in New York this month, although the official word from the Indian capital on Friday spoke of Kathmandu, in the first week of January, as the only confirmed rendezvous so far.

Indian foreign secretary Chokila Iyer told a news conference that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf would be in the Nepali capital in January to attend a much delayed meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Significantly, both leaders are scheduled to address the UN General Assembly and separately meet US President George W. Bush too, and both are believed to have kept some time free on Nov 11. Ms Iyer acknowledged that some meetings were being arranged for Mr Vajpayee on Sunday, the last day of his stay in New York. Significantly too, she did not deny that one of those meetings could involve a dignitary from Pakistan.

Commenting on the likelihood of a meeting between Mr Vajpayee and Gen Musharraf in New York, The Hindu newspaper said: “The slated encounter in January does not necessarily mean that a meeting in New York has been completely ruled out. But the prospects of such a meeting have widely been seen as dim. Both the leaders are expected to address the General Assembly around the same time. Mr Vajpayee is slated to speak on Nov 10. He may have some time on Jan 11 to meet Gen Musharraf. “

India, Ms Iyer said, was canvassing its case to transform the Six-Plus-Two group on Afghanistan, involving Afghanistan’s contiguous neighbours with Russia and the United States, into a wider union of the G-8 plus the neighbours and India. Whether Gen Musharraf readily agrees with the idea will depend on his assessment of domestic acceptance and, not the least, the word from President Bush. Mr Vajpayee has the advantage of meeting President Bush a day before his counterpart from Pakistan.

Ms Iyer briefed reporters about Mr Vajpayee’s itinerary in Russia, the United States and Britain, in that order, beginning on Nov 4 and ending on Nov 13. She said Mr Vajpayee would discuss Afghanistan with President Vladimir Putin and also sign with him an MOU for the construction of a nuclear power plant in southern India.

There is some speculation about Mr Vajpayee’s remarks the other day when he said he could easily meet Gen Musharraf in either Islamabad or New Delhi, and did not need to travel to New York for that. Is it possible that he will indeed be meeting Gen Musharraf closer home and sooner than the Kathmandu Saarc summit?

Ms Iyer was also asked if the foreign ministers of both countries were planning a meeting on the margins of the General Assembly. She repeated her remarks that the process of dialogue with Pakistan had never been closed — another tantalizing thought — although relatively easier to guess. They will meet, official sources concurred.

Mr Vajpayee was silent about the New York schedule, but held forth on other key issues with Pakistan.

Addressing a meeting of his Bharatiya Janata Party in Amritsar, Mr Vajpayee balanced his comments regarding Pakistan — a standard warning on cross-border attacks and a new offer of cooperation against terrorism and poverty. He stressed that the issue of Kashmir could neither be resolved militarily nor on the basis of religion.

“Our armed forces are ready for any eventuality but from our side we will not make any move on the border,” he said in a significant comment that will please his interlocutors in Moscow, Washington and London. “At the same time, we will not allow infiltration from across the border and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir”, he added.

Mr Vajpayee stressed that world leaders that he had met were convinced about India’s case that as long as cross-border terrorism continued, there was no question of any dialogue with Gen Musharraf.

Much of the recent bellicosity between the two countries is the handiwork of an overactive media. It was their turn to get an earful on Friday — from External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

Asked to comment on the possibility of a nuclear arms race being triggered between the South Asian rivals by the war in Afghanistan, Mr Singh shot back: “Please put your mind at rest. We are not reinventing the Cold War.”

Maintaining that the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan should not be a “unidimensional effort,” Mr Singh said the military strikes were only one component of the war against terrorists with the others being diplomatic, economic, political and psychological.

“Air strikes have limited effectiveness and they should not be treated in isolation,” he said, adding that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was already readdressing the tactics in Afghanistan.

Mr Rumsfeld is expected in Delhi on Sunday for a meeting with Defence Minister George Fernandes.