Tipnis handshake

NEW DELHI, JULY 14. In a conspicuous departure from strict protocol requirements, Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis, Chief of the Air Staff, did not salute the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, at the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning and only shook hands with him.

Air Chief Marshal Tipnis, who was representing the three services as per the rotation principle for ceremonial welcomes, was in the front row of dignitaries.

A controversy had erupted during the visit of the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee, to Lahore in 1999 when it was widely reported that the three service chiefs of Pakistan including Gen. Musharraf, who was then the Army Chief, had refused to come to the Wagah border to greet the visiting Indian leader.

Later, a Defence Ministry spokesman said that when Gen. Musharraf was introduced to the Air Chief Marshal at the Rashtrapati Bhavan the two had a normal exchange of ``greetings and niceties''.

The ceremonial reception was the only occasion when one of the services chief was expected to formally greet the Pakistani military ruler.All the three service chiefs were present at the official banquet hosted by the President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan.

- PTI

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