NEW YORK, Aug 3: US President George W. Bush would meet separately with the leaders of India and Pakistan at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s special session and ask them to open dialogue on the issues which have brought them to the brink of war, well-informed sources told Dawn here.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Sept 12, is expected to be the focus of international community as Pakistan has become pivotal in the war against terrorism. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend the session which will mark the first anniversary of Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is expected to address the UN special session on Sept 13, would also meet the US president.

Bush, diplomatic sources here say, would ask both India and Pakistan to lower down the war-like atmosphere in the subcontinent. He is expected to ask President Musharraf to permanently stop “cross-border infiltration,” which India claims has still not stopped completely but Pakistan insists it has.

He would also ask both countries to open dialogue on Kashmir to resolve the festering dispute which is again threatening to escalate into a fully fledged war with Pakistani and Indian troops amassed at the border. India has some million troops along its border with Pakistan.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who would also be attending the UN session, has promised to stay engaged with India and Pakistan and has declared that Kashmir is on the international community’s agenda.

Diplomats here said while it would be desirable that the Indian and Pakistani leaders meet at the sidelines of the UN session, given the Indian leaders’ stance, it was unlikely that such a meeting would take place. “If both leaders meet, it could go a long way to de-escalate the tensions in the subcontinent,” said one diplomat, adding: “The international community would be most interested in seeing a bilateral meeting between Mr Vajpayee and Gen Musharraf.”

However, analysts and experts here think that the US is not likely to put pressure on Indian and Pakistani leaders to hold summit talks before they agree on the modalities and terms of such a meeting. But they believe that the international community is deeply concerned that a war between India and Pakistan could be dangerous as both countries have nuclear weapons. A scenario, which the international community says, is “unimaginable” but possible.

President Musharraf, who will come to US five days ahead of the UN session, has a busy agenda during his stay.

He is scheduled to visit Boston (Massachusetts) on a private visit to meet his son but is expected to address the Harvard University which has invited him to speak.