ISLAMABAD, March 27: PML President Chaudhry Shujaat is all set to leave for New Delhi on Monday morning, leading a 10-member parliamentary delegation on a four-day visit to India aimed at confidence building and boosting the ongoing Indo-Pakistan peace process. This will be his first visit to India. The PML president is going to India on the invitation of Indian ruling Congress Party chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
The visit acquires special significance as it is the first time in Indo-Pakistan history that there would be an interaction between leaders of the two ruling parties.
PML coordinator Zafar Naqvi told Dawn on Sunday that since it is a “party-to-party non-governmental visit” no cabinet members have been included in the delegation that comprises six men and four women parliamentarians.
Members of the official PML delegation include the party secretary general, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed; Senator Wasim Sajjad, Senator S.M. Zafar, Begum Gauhar Ayub (MNA), Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain (MNA), Ms Kashmala Tariq (MNA), Senator Roshan Khurshid Bharucha, Senator Dilawar Abbas and Ms Fizza Junejo (MNA).
Some other party members will also accompany the PML president on this visit. A 12-member media team will also be travelling with him.
The PML president has a tight schedule chalked out for his stay in Delhi. He has meetings lined up with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and President Abdul Kalam on Tuesday. His meeting with his host, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is expected the same day. On Wednesday, he will call on BJP leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Opposition Leader L.K. Advani.
Other engagements include a reception at the Pakistan High Commission, lunch with Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh on Wednesday, a South Asia Free Media Association function on Tuesday, a session with Indian intellectuals and a reception by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The PML president will also host dinner for a cross-section of the Indian society, including politicians, leading businessmen and media representatives.
Chaudhry Shujaat’s goodwill visit, as dubbed by his party members, is expected to set the tone for President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s trip to India next month. The PML president will return to Pakistan on Friday afternoon.—QA
