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Vajpayee urges dialogue in
non-combative atmosphere

Tarun Basu
Indo-Asian News Service

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday warned Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that a dialogue between the two countries could succeed only "in a non-combative atmosphere" and urged him to take a more realistic approach ahead of the Sunday summit.

Responding to Musharraf's insistence on discussing only the Kashmir issue and nothing else, Vajpayee said it was important to recognise that a "single-point agenda or a unidimensional approach" was not a recipe for success.

India stood for a broad-based approach to the problems in India-Pakistan relations "if we are to move towards agreement on them," the prime minister said in an exclusive interview to IANS.

Vajpayee, however, said no "dramatic results" should be expected from the Sunday summit at Agra. "We should try to gradually overcome the mistrust and suspicion that has built up over the years," he said.

Taking note of Musharraf's progressively hardening stance, Vajpayee said that any attempt to restore dialogue and have good-neighbourly relations with Pakistan "require patient effort in a non-combative atmosphere devoid of unnecessary rhetoric and false accusations."

"I do hope there will be a more realistic approach at our summit meeting, so that we can fulfil the hope generated among our peoples about the meeting," Vajpayee said in the interview conducted at his 7, Race Course Road residence.

The prime minister was in a relaxed and jovial mood and betrayed no tension ahead of the marathon meeting that he was expecting to conduct with the Pakistani leader.

He said he had set aside considerable time in Agra for detailed talks and was "willing to have as many rounds of talks as required to improve the atmosphere of our bilateral relations."

He hoped that Musharraf's visit would reverse the "negative trend" in ties that resulted in a total breakdown of communication between the two countries. "We hope to find ways of putting conflict and discord behind us and to reach an understanding on mattes that divide us," Vajpayee said.

To a question whether there were any feelers from Pakistan ahead of his surprise invitation to the Pakistani leader, whom his government had so far shunned, Vajpayee replied with a terse 'no'.

He said there was an enormous groundswell of support among people in both countries for efforts to improve bilateral relations. He said the two countries can be on the right course as long as the two sides approach this task with sincerity and goodwill.

"India is ready to stay the course, but one hand cannot clap," the prime minister said.

Vajpayee said it was a cause of satisfaction that all political parties had extended their full support for the summit illustrating the "strong national consensus in India on core foreign policy issues."

"It is a source of great strength and sustenance for me to know that almost all shades of political opinion in our country not only support the talks with Pakistan, but also agree broadly on the line to be pursued at the talks," Vajpayee said.

On why India had refrained from criticising Musharraf for elevating himself as president when even the US had criticised the move, Vajpayee avoided comment. He said India felt that it was of utmost importance to restore dialogue with Pakistan and "we felt there was an opportunity to do so and it should not be missed."

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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