The Hindu : Bilateral meetings likely in Islamabad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 22, 2003

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Bilateral meetings likely in Islamabad

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI DEC. 21. The focus may be on the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's likely meeting with the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, but he is also scheduled to meet other South Asian leaders in Islamabad between January 4 and 6.

Highly-placed official sources told this correspondent today that Mr. Vajpayee would meet the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Nepal, Khaleda Zia and Surya Bahadur Thapa, and the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk.

Other bilateral meetings are also possible on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional

Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad, the sources maintained. Mr. Vajpayee is scheduled to leave for

Islamabad on January 3, a day before the summit begins.

While the SAARC agenda is expected to focus on economic issues, the Prime Minister's meeting with the

King of Bhutan is likely to be centred on the results of the military operation conducted against anti-India militants by the Royal Bhutan Army. As can be expected, the entire focus of media attention will be on the bilateral track with Islamabad, where the Prime Minister could have a separate session with his Pakistani counterpart, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, as well. The meeting between Mr. Vajpayee by the Pakistani High Commissioner, Aziz Ahmed Khan, on Saturday, is also being seen as significant as far as possible bilateral meetings with the Pakistani leadership are concerned.

Mr. Khan is scheduled to leave for Islamabad on Monday to prepare for the likely meetings between Mr. Vajpayee and Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Jamali.

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