Siachen issue resolution needs political will: Kasuri
By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri arrived here on a private visit on Saturday, igniting speculation on a range of issues between India and Pakistan, which he could focus on during the four-day tour, not the least being the next summit meeting of their leaders.
Mr Kasuri is being accompanied by his wife and Mr Jalil Abbas Jilani, the foreign ministry's point-man for South Asia.
They were received by federal minister and Mr Kasuri’s Cambridge University friend Mani Shankar Aiyar, whose daughter’s wedding they are here to attend.
The foreign minister made a few short remarks for reporters at the airport, mainly in the nature of a correction he wished to record since he was apparently misquoted on Siachen, or so he claimed.
“Our position is clear. A lot of progress has been made and it requires some meeting. Given the political will, it should be resolved,” he said, insisting that precondition of political will was a key part of his statement on the glacial dispute.
Words to the effect that the Siachen dispute could be resolved within weeks, if not days, attributed to the minister ahead of the recent foreign secretary-level talks were thus given a context.
But this has not deterred anyone from attempting to guess the exact purpose of Mr Kasuri's visit, which obviously could not be confined to just one wedding for four days. Mr Jilani's presence in his entourage has added to speculation. A report from Islamabad about the likely visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan early next year is being linked with Mr Kasuri's visit. There has been no comment from officials on either side.
During the wedding ceremony itself, where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh are both likely to be present, a “chance meeting” with one or both cannot be ruled out. That should give more grist to the rumour mill.
Officially, he is scheduled to meet Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee over lunch on Monday. What the two would discuss in their first encounter since the Indian minister took charge of the foreign ministry will remain a secret till we hear from any of them, directly or more likely though a leak.
NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri arrived here on a private visit on Saturday, igniting speculation on a range of issues between India and Pakistan, which he could focus on during the four-day tour, not the least being the next summit meeting of their leaders.
