NEW DELHI, May 8: A six-member delegation of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, headed by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, arrived here on Monday for informal talks with Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

Former Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh, who was himself feted by Makhdoom Fahim and other leaders in Karachi recently, hosted a dinner for the group on Monday. It was attended by Indian opposition leader Lal Kishan Advani and a number of politicians from the ruling establishment.

The PPP delegates said their three-day visit was part of an excercise by the party to visit all neighbouring countries, including one to China later this month, ahead of the next year’s general elections.

“We want to assure our neighnours, India most of all, that we want to pursue a policy of peace and harmony,” Senator Enver Baig, a delegate, told Dawn. “When elections are held next year or even earlier, and if they are fair, then we are bound to come to power with God’s grace.”

The PPP wants all countries in the region to focus on social welfare of their people.

When they were asked if the PPP proposed to make any changes in the foreign policy pursued by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, a delegate said: “We don’t know what the government wants to do with our neighbours. It doesn’t brief us about anything.”

“But as far as we are concerned, we are for peace and harmony. Disputes like Kashmir will have to be resolved within this framework.”

Our staff reporter in Lahore adds: The six-member delegation of the PPP left here on a two-day ‘goodwill mission’ to India on Monday, making it clear that it would not discuss any internal matter of Pakistan with its hosts.

“We’ll try to understand India’s political system,” Mr Fahim said at a news conference.

Raja Pervez Ashraf, Qasim Zia, Senator Enver Baig, Nisar Khuhro and MNA Ramesh Lal are members of the delegation.

Mr Fahim said the delegation would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. BJP leader L.K. Advani will host a lunch for the delegation.

In the afternoon, the PPP leaders will meet the Indian external affairs minister.

On Wednesday, the delegation will meet former foreign minister Jaswant Singh.

Mr Fahim said an important purpose of the visit was to promote people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

He said his party wanted normalisation of relations between the two countries through talks.

He said former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had underlined the need for more contacts between the people of the two countries and the delegation would try to advance the mission.

He said President Musharraf was pursuing the same policy on India which had been given by Ms Bhutto.

Commenting about the possibility of the ARD joining hands with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal if the latter started its movement in September, Mr Fahim said: “Let the Majlis first take some practical steps.”