NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who left on Sunday for his first visit to the United States on Sunday, will push for a step by step approach in the resolution of disputes with Pakistan when he meets President Gen Pervez Musharraf later this week , official sources said.
In a statement, Dr Singh gave a whiff of a hint about his gradualist agenda, saying pithily that a meeting with President Musharraf was envisaged in New York and that "this will be a further step in the ongoing dialogue process with Pakistan."
The sources said Dr. Singh would have a wide exchange of ideas with President Musharraf "without promising a false dawn", a phrase he used to characterise his approach towards Pakistan in his first news conference earlier this month. "I do believe in the ancient saying that 'a road is made by walking', step by step," Dr Singh had said.
His meeting with President Musharraf, earlier proposed for Wednesday, has been put off by two days to allow their national security advisers to thrash out a purposeful and manageable menu for the encounter.
Sources close to recent unpublicised talks between Indian National Security Advisor Jyotindra Nath Dixit and his Pakistan counterpat Tariq Aziz, said they two senior officials would hold further talks before their leaders' meeting.
In his remarks on Sunday, Mr Singh said his proposed address to the UN General Assembly was happening "against the background of multifarious threats and challenges facing the international community".
He said enhancing the UN's capacities to meet these challenges was a priority. "Central to this process, is reform of the UN and restructuring of the Security Council. We will make our case for India's candidature as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which is gaining increasing international support," Dr Singh said.
About his proposed meeting with US President George Bush, Dr Singh said: "Both our countries are determined to endow our vital relationship with greater content, particularly in economic and high technology fields."