ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: President Pervez Musharraf will attend next week’s South Asian summit in Nepal despite India’s decision to close its airspace to Pakistani planes, officials said on Friday.

“President Musharraf will attend the Saarc conference in Kathmandu,” a foreign ministry official told AFP.

India later said it would allow Gen Musharraf to fly through Indian airspace if Islamabad made a special request.

Doubts surfaced about the viability of the Jan 4-6 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit after India on Thursday announced new sanctions, including barring Pakistani aircraft from its skies.

Under Saarc’s charter all members must be present for a meeting to take place, and the move was seen as making it difficult for Gen Musharraf to attend by forcing him to make a major detour.

However, Pakistani officials said privately that after debate, it was decided to push ahead with the trip despite the difficult circumstances.

The 11th Saarc summit was originally scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in November 1999 but was postponed following Gen Musharraf’s takeover the previous month.

The conference had been considered a valuable opportunity for the Indian and Pakistani leaders to meet and try to resolve their differences, particularly after July’s failed summit in Agra.

India said earlier this month that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would not meet Gen Musharraf given the current tensions.

However, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said on Thursday that Gen Musharraf would be willing to meet Mr Vajpayee for talks during the summit.

“We have always said that we want dialogue and talks at any level, any time and anywhere. It is for India to respond to our move. The ball is in India’s court. We have done our part,” he said.

Saarc, founded in 1985, groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.—AFP