NEW DELHI, May 6: Indian Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee responded with a warm smile to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s peace moves on Tuesday but declined to offer a hurried comment on the proposals in what seems to be New Delhi’s slow and cautious approach to Islamabad.
Mr Vajpayee was asked to comment by journalists, at the end of an unrelated cabinet meeting at his residence, to respond to Mr Jamali’s peace overtures. The prime minister, who was seeing off his colleagues, smiled but left it to his body language to convey what seemed to be a positive message of goodwill.
Indian officials said a considered response to Mr Jamali’s overture was expected on Wednesday, possibly after taking parliament into the picture.
The officials said India was eager to hear what US Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage would say in Islamabad before visiting New Delhi, to be able to give a fuller response to the emerging scenario.
Much of the Indian media evidently was preoccupied with domestic issues when Mr Jamali was addressing his press conference, as was the cabinet meeting, focussing on issues completely unrelated to the message from Islamabad.
The cabinet meeting, described by the media as crucial, ended in the evening, in which it was decided that Indians should be allowed to hold dual citizenship, like most countries in the rest of the world.
A judicial commission will also be set up that will appoint judges and a bill will be placed in Parliament that will impose a nationwide ban on cow slaughter.
It was left to “important non officials” to reflect the government’s thinking on Mr Jamali’s offer.
“It has been a fast moving scenario since the prime minister’s initiative in Srinagar,” said S.K Lamba, former Indian envoy to Islamabad.
“What Mr Jamali said was positive. What is needed now is a careful preparation to proceed forward from here.”
Mr Lamba said India has to keep its eyes on the “ground situation” to watch the proof of Pakistan’s claims on checking infiltration.
He said the fact that Pakistan’s parliament and the army appeared to be behind Mr Jamali’s overtures augurs well for a good atmosphere for the talks to proceed.
Referring to Mr Jamali’s comments on 78 items put on the positive list, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarthy said both Sapta and Safta had to be implemented in the spirit of the Kathmandu declarations.
Informed diplomats said however that India’s demand to be accorded a Most Favoured Nation status in trade with Pakistan would be accepted soon by Islamabad.