June 9, 2002	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27,1423

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NEW DELHI, June 8: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee summoned an impromptu meeting of his senior cabinet ministers on Saturday, amid speculation that New Delhi is gearing up to announce a major step to enhance peace in South Asia.

The more than two-hour meeting included Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, number two in the cabinet after the prime minister, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, officials said.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters that the meeting focused on selecting candidates in next month’s vote for post of president.

“India-Pakistan relations were not discussed at the meeting,” said Mahajan, the cabinet spokesman.

The Indian media was awash on Saturday with speculation that New Delhi will announce some “matching gestures.”

—AFP