Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani is all set to leave for Pakistan on Monday on a six-day visit amidst raging controversy over Kashmir's separatist Hurriyat leaders' visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
His family and more than a dozen media persons are to accompany him.
Advani will visit Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.
In Islamabad, he is likely to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
However, Advani's visit is considered ill timed by some experts because the issue of allowing Hurriyat leaders to visit Islamabad, where a grand reception is awaiting them, might create a controversy.
Unless Hurriyat leaders withdraw their demand, the diplomatic crisis can't be averted.
Hurriyat leaders want to take the bus from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad and then proceed to Islamabad from there. India has shot down Hurriyat's proposal.
Navtej Sarna, foreign office spokesman, has said that the permit to ride the SrinagarMuzaffarabad bus is only to visit places within the territory of the erstwhile State of J&K including Gilgit and Baltistan.
In view of this position of India, now, if Hurriyat leaders travel by bus as planned, on June 2 from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad and then to Islamabad it will be a huge embarrassment for Indian government and also for Advani, who will possibly be in Karachi at that time.
Advani is expected to be given a warm welcome by the Pakistan government.
Says B.Raman, expert on Pakistan: "Pakistan believes that the Manmohan Singh government cannot implement on its own any agreement on Kashmir without BJP's support. Pakistanis believe that the BJP has got Hindu street power."
When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf visited New Delhi during the India-Pakistan cricket series, he met former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Advani too.
Raman thinks that by going to Pakistan at this juncture, Advani is giving the impression of endorsing the Congress's policy on Pakistan and that the peace process is heading in the right direction.
Also, one is unsure about what the attitude of Islamic fundamentalist parties of Pakistan will be to Advani's visit.
However, Advani himself is well-aware that people and media in Pakistan will ask him about Babri Masjid demolition, his role behind the failure of Agra talks and Gujarat riots.
Mahmood Sham, group editor of Karachi-based Jung told rediff.com, "His visit is very important because, in Pakistan, common people think Advani has been the most anti-Pakistan politician in India. They believe he sabotaged the Agra talks. In view of his stand, the Pakistan government, politicians and media are giving his visit very much importance."
The Pakistan media and people will get a chance to hear him directly, he says.
A section of Pakistani media has been frequently raking up a half-a-century-old case about Advani.
Sham said that according to media reports in Pakistan, before migrating to India just before the partition, Advani had attended a meeting, where it was plotted to kill Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan.
A case too was registered against those who attended the alleged meeting. But Advani's name was not mentioned in the first information report.
Sham says that particular case has kept Pakistani's interest alive in Advani even after so many years.
Before leaving for Pakistan, Advani had a special meeting with Vajpayee to discuss about his visit. On May 27, Advani also met PM Manmohan Singh to discuss his visit to Pakistan. Emerging from the 20-minute meeting, the former deputy prime minister said he considered his visit to Pakistan an important link in the ongoing peace process started by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He appreciated the fact that Dr Singh was carrying the process forward. "It is progressing and the atmosphere between the two countries is improving," he said.
Officials of the external affairs ministry briefed Advani.
In view of the possibility of Hurriyat issue affecting the peace efforts, Raman says, "It would have been wiser if Advani had not chosen such a time. While accepting the hospitality of the Pakistan government, he will not be able to find fault with the government if tomorrow the Pakistan policy of Congress goes seriously wrong."
Advani's visit will certainly strengthen the peace process but it will shrink the BJP's space in domestic politics to take on the Congress' Pakistan policy, experts say.
Sham sums it up like this: "We believe during his visit to Pakistan, Advani will be neutralised."
