Touchy issues won’t figure in Brown-Musharraf talks
By Our Special Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 23: The agenda of Brown-Musharraf talks at 10 Downing Street on Monday is not likely to include the issues of Islamabad’s suspension from the Commonwealth and Britain’s support to India’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner Dr Maleeha Lodhi who was briefing the media here on Wednesday on the programme of President Pervez Musharraf’s forthcoming visit to the UK starting on Friday answered with a categorical “No” when asked if the Commonwealth would figure in the talks.
“Pakistan in principle does not discuss third party relations with friends,” said Ms Lodhi when asked if the president would raise the issue of London’s support to India’s candidature for a UN Security Council seat.
According to the high commissioner, the agenda of talks would include the on going ‘democratic process in Pakistan’, Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, Pakistan-India peace process and bilateral relations.
Sources here said that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would certainly bring up the subject of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the progress of the investigation into how she was killed and who was behind it.
Since Britain was actively involved in Benazir-Musharraf negotiations from the very beginning and had also supported the idea of power-sharing between the two, it was only natural for the Whitehall to appraise itself first hand of the circumstances which led to Ms Bhutto’s murder and also discuss the anticipated political developments after the elections.
Mr Brown is likely to go over with President Pervez Musharraf on the steps taken so far by the government of Pakistan to ensure free, fair and transparent elections on February 18.
He is also expected to raise questions about political prisoners and the continued incarceration of the judges who were dismissed by President Musharraf under emergency powers.
The high commissioner said that high points of president’s visit will be the meeting with Prime Minister Brown, followed by a joint press conference and his address to the British-Pakistani community.
“He will also address at the Rusi (Royal United Strategic Institute), a think tank, and speak at his former college, the Royal College for Defence Studies (RCDS).
On the day of his arrival, the president has two commitments; one at Rusi and the other meeting with the Pakistani community. He has ostensibly a free week-end during which Prince Karim Aga Khan might call on him if he is in London.
And on Monday, the president will meet a selected group of UK’s editors and senior media persons, visit 10 Downing Street, speak at the RCDS and before departure he is expected to talk to the UK-based Pakistani media.
