The Hindu : International / India & World : 'Tariq Aziz established contact with Dixit'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

International

International - India & World

'Tariq Aziz established contact with Dixit'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 9. The Pakistan National Security Council Secretary, Tariq Aziz, is said to have established contact with the National Security Adviser, J.N. Dixit, to discuss the nitty-gritty of India-Pakistan peace initiatives.

The meeting is reported to have taken place on Monday in India. According to knowledgeable sources, the basic idea behind the contact was to acquaint each other on the thinking of their leadership on peace initiatives and find ways to carry them forward. It was done at the initiative of the Pakistani side, which was keen on listening to the views from New Delhi after the change of government.

Indications are that the two of them discussed the possible agenda for the technical-level talks on nuclear confidence building measures on June 19 and 20 in New Delhi followed by a meeting between the two Foreign Secretaries in the last week of June on Kashmir and CBMs on security.

On record, the Pakistani establishment has denied any such meeting. It appears that Mr. Aziz, the pointman of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, was upset when the news of his journey got leaked in a section of the press. It was a series of unpublicised meetings and contacts between Mr. Aziz and the then National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, that culminated in the meeting between Gen. Musharraf and the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Pakistan English daily, The News, in a front-page report claimed that Mr. Aziz was sent by Gen. Musharraf with a special message for the new Indian setup a couple of days ago. It said the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, accompanied him.

Whether or not he carried any message from the Pakistan President as his trusted aide, Mr. Aziz could not have taken such an initiative without the knowledge of his boss.

By taking the initiative, Pakistan obviously wanted to send out a message to the new establishment in Delhi that it would like to pursue the peace process with the same vigour as it did during the Vajpayee regime.

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'Tariq Aziz established contact with Dixit'