August 19, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 16, 1429

NEW DELHI, Aug 18: India described President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation as an internal affair of Pakistan, but Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave enough hints that his rapport with senior leaders of the ruling coalition would keep ties intact.

Responding to media queries on his widely watched farewell address on TV, a foreign ministry spokesman said: “We have no comments to make on the resignation of President Musharraf of Pakistan. This is an internal matter of Pakistan.”

Only the other day, however, National Security Adviser M. K. Nrayanan had cautioned that Mr Musharraf’s exit at this juncture could create a debilitating vacuum in Pakistan, a comment that contrasted sharply with India’s rejection of the coup in October 1999.

Mr Mukherjee who met the president during his recent visit to Islamabad was non-committal on his departure from the scene, calling it Pakistan’s internal matter. While independent analysts appeared to see Mr Musharraf’s tenure as a stabilising factor in bilateral ties, despite his role in the Kargil fiasco, Mr Mukherjee focused his attention to his personal equation with the existing leaders.

“During my visit to Pakistan, I had, in fact, developed a personal relationship with the leaders of that country. From Nawaz Sharif toAsif Ali Zardari and (Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani), I have cordial discussions with all of them and it seems to me that a positive approach could be made in improving our relations,” Mr Mukherjee said on the sidelines of a seminar in West Bengal.

“When I had met with a car accident in Murshidabad district last year, Nawaz Sharif personally telephoned me from London to enquire about my health,” he recalled.