NEW DELHI, March 28: Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who arrived here on Monday afternoon on the invitation of the ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi said his visit was about confidence building and taking forward the ongoing peace process between the two countries. Talking to Indian media personnel waiting for him at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the PML president stated that the overriding objectives of his visit were confidence building and promoting people-to-people contacts at all levels between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours.

Asked if he had come to prepare the ground for President Musharraf’s visit to India next month, he quipped: The ground has already been prepared and I am here to only water it and sow some grass on it!

He mentioned the positive response he got from Sonia Gandhi when he wrote a letter to her two and half years back (when she was in the opposition) soliciting her support for peace between the two countries.

On arrival at the airport, the PML president was received by Dilip Sinha, Joint Secretary at the Indian External Affairs Ministry. Notably there was no representative of the Congress Party at the airport to welcome him. However, Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar who was waiting in the VIP lounge for his flight to Saudi Arabia had a brief encounter with Chaudhry Shujaat. At the outset Mani Shankar’s presence in the lounge made members of the delegation think that he was part of the reception committee that included Pakistan High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan and deputy high commissioner Munawar Bhatti.

While there was no Congress leader at the airport to welcome the PML president, banners with the slogan: Welcome Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, ex-prime minister of Pakistan, had been put up along with route to the hotel. It was not clear who had put up those banners.

On arrival at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the PML president was received by Congress MP Rajiv Shukala who is also the vice-president of the Board of Cricket Control of India.

After lunch, Chaudhry Shujaat had another interaction with the Indian media where he was asked questions about President Musharraf’s forthcoming visit to India and the link between the two visits.

MEETS APHC LEADERS: Chaudhry Shujaat’s first engagement in the evening was a meeting with APHC leader Mirwaiz at which Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Lone were also present. This was followed by a separate meeting with Ali Gilani and his son-in-law Altaf Gilani. Both the meetings took place at the Pakistan House. On Tuesday morning the PML president will meet Shabbir Shah.

On Tuesday afternoon he will meet Indian President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Till the filing of this report the Indian External Affairs Ministry had not confirmed the PML president’s meeting with his host Sonia Gandhi.