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NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto began a private tour of India on Sunday with a call for restoration of democracy in her country and an expression of public support for talks between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Gen Pervez Musharraf in Katmandu.

Ms Bhutto’s four-day tour began amid simmering tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, where reports quoted a senior opposition leader as expecting a brief war to break out between the two uneasy neighbours.

Even as Ms Bhutto welcomed a possible Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting during the Saarc summit in January, she raised doubts about its success, considering that President Musharraf was not a democratically-elected leader.

“It is always good when people meet and I am a firm believer in communication. My only concern is that Gen Musharraf is not an elected leader in Pakistan and that is important for relations between India and Pakistan,” she told reporters during a brief appearance at her hotel in New Delhi.

She added that it was important that the relations between the two neighbours be developed as per the wishes of the Pakistani people.

“My concern is about the people of Pakistan. I think that agreements made between democratic leaders have far more credibility. But I am glad they are meeting,” Ms Bhutto said.

The remarks acquired greater urgency than even she might have meant as the Times of India quoted former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav as seeing a war soon between the two countries, both needing it to deflect domestic criticism of their government’s policies.

“There may be a brief war between India and Pakistan as heads of the two countries are facing various problems at their respective ends and want to save their seats,” Yadav was quoted as telling the Bareilly Bar Association in Uttar Pradesh.

He said another plausible reason for the war was the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election as those at the helm of affairs would try to divert people’s attention from the exercize.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Ms Bhutto as favouring India using its influence on the world community for an early restoration of democracy in her country and said President Pervez Musharraf had “missed the opportunity” to buy peace with New Delhi.

Ms Bhutto, who met Home Minister L K Advani on the first day of her visit, is learnt to have told him that she expected India to use its influence with the US and other world powers to ensure an early return of democracy in Pakistan, PTI said.

During her meeting which went on for over 90 minutes, both leaders also discussed the Kashmir issue an