Daily Excelsior... World

Bhutto not very optimistic about Indo-Pak talks

NEW DELHI, Feb 19: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said she was not very optimistic about the outcome of the forthcoming Indo-Pak talks during Indian Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s maiden bus tour to Lahore. ..more

What about bus diplomacy between India, China?

BEIJING, Feb 19: Will India and China agree to start a bus service to normalise their bilateral ties in near future? Though diplomatic sources said no such move was in the offing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman did not reject the idea of bus diplomacy. ..more

Pallone asks Clinton to recognise India’s status
as nuclear power

WASHINGTON, Feb 19: Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has asked the Clinton administration to recognise India’s status as a nuclear power before evolving its policy of non-proliferation and peace for the region. "Our goal should be to make India a partner in ..more

Vajpayee to arrives Lahore today amidst tight security

LAHORE, Feb 19: Marking a dramatic upturn in his diplomatic initiative to improve ties with Pakistan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrives here tomorrow on a historic visit amidst unprecedented security . ..more

Bhutto not very optimistic about Indo-Pak talks

"There is a huge backlog of mistrust and suspicion between the two countries. Moreover, Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan Prime Minister) lacks the comprehension of the complex regional and international situation", she said in an interview to ‘Outlook’ magazine.

"That’s why I do not expect much to come out of the forthcoming talks", she said.

Bhutto said had she been Prime Minister she would have impressed upon her Indian counterpart the need to address the core issue of Kashmir first, according to a press release from Outlook magazine.

"I would tell the Indians how important it was to address the issue of Kashmir for an ultimate resolution of all our problems and disputes", she said, adding "the Kashmir problem has brought us to war before and could well bring us to war again."

She welcomed the introduction of Delhi-Lahore bus service but did not see much emerging from this saying it is no more than a cosmetic step in the context of overall Indo-Pak relations. "However, we welcome the bus service as a small confidence building measure."

The bus service is yet to be fitted into a larger peace plan involving the two countries, she said.

Stating that there is no room for rhetoric or frenzy, Bhutto said it would be catastrophic if war breaks out since both Pakistan and India are now nuclear powers.

"There are extremists on both sides but the stakes are too high to allow us to be driven by rhetoric or frenzy. I would have therefore placed emphasis upon a resolution of the Kashmir problem that takes into account the sensitivities and desires of the people of the state", she said.

Asked to comment on why Sharif had agreed to meet Vajpayee at the border, Bhutto said the Pakistan Premier’s ‘real motives’ were not clear.

"I cannot speak for Sharif, he has still not taken the people into confidence about it. No discussion has taken place either in the National Assembly or in the Senate. Even the Cabinet has not been taken into confidence", she said.

No one can say for sure whether he is driven by personal commercial considerations or by a real desire to improve relations with India under some external pressure, Bhutto said. (PTI)

What about bus diplomacy between India, China?

BEIJING, Feb 19: Will India and China agree to start a bus service to normalise their bilateral ties in near future?

Though diplomatic sources said no such move was in the offing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman did not reject the idea of bus diplomacy.

As we know, the Indian side has never proposed to the relevant Chinese Department to start a bus service between the two countries, the spokesman told here.

The Chinese response, in reply to a question, came after Defence Minister George Fernandes recently expressed optimism that the day was not very far when a stage would be reached for starting a bus service between India and China on lines similar to that of Delhi-Lahore bus service.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will travel to Pakistan by road tomorrow marking the inauguration of first such bus service between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi and Dhaka have also signed a similar agreement and a protocol for introduction of a two-way bus service between Calcutta and the Bangladeshi capital.

However, analysts noted that Sino-Indian relations at the present juncture needs a strong symbolic gesture to resume bilateral dialogue.

They said starting a regular commercial bus service between the two Asian giants on lines similar to the Delhi-Lahore and the proposed Calcutta-Dhaka route will help normalisation of Sino-Indian relations.

Relations between India and China turned sour after New Delhi conducted five nuclear tests in May last year.

Chinese Ambassador to India, Zhou Gang has already described as a welcome step Prime Minister Vajpayee’s decision to board the Delhi-Lahore bus on its inaugural run to visit Pakistan.

In the mean time, the very idea of India and Pakistan agreeing to launch a commercial bus service and the two Prime Ministers travelling in the inaugural run has generated media interest in China.

Major Chinese newspapers have prominently covered the upcoming event, the one of the biggest news events in South Asia after the tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May.

However, the official Chinese media have refrained from commenting on the outcome of bus diplomacy between New Delhi and Islamabad. (PTI)

Pallone asks Clinton to recognise
India’s status as nuclear power

"Our goal should be to make India a partner in the Americant foreign policy goal of minimising the threat of nuclear war. One way of accomplishing this is to take the long overdue step of accepting India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council," he said in a statement here last night.

He said, "we need to shift our focus from simply condemning India for becoming a nuclear power-which, whether we like it or not, is the reality-to adjusting our thinking to this new reality and working to promote peace, security, confidence building and non-proliferation in South Asia."

he said, "one of the key factors that has been overlooked in our narrow India-Pakistan focus is the role of China. I believe that China is the real threat to India, as well as to US interests and to regional security.

"In particular, India has legitimate concerns about China’s support for Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programmes, as well as potential chinese designs on India territory," Mr Pollone added.

Mr Pollone said, "since the US must also view China as a potential adversary, there is a growing convergence of American and Indian objectives for responding to China."

He cited a recent report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) South Asia programme, which notes that India and Pakistan are beginning to define "minimum deterrenne," in similar ways.

The Congressman said the US should work to build on this emerging notion of minimum deterrence, combined with a declared policy of non-first-use of nuclear weapons.

He also expressed agreement with some of the views expressed by Mr Tariq Rauf, Director of the international organisations an non-prolife action project at the Monetary Institute of International Studies in Monetary, California, who sees Washington opting for a strategy of greater accommodation in its negotiations with both India and Pakistan, recognising that neither nation is likely to give up its nuclear weapons.

Mr Rauf has said that India, as well as Pakistan, should not only be encouraged, but assisted, to consider a variety of bilateral and multilateral discussions and agreements "to maintain their current tacit non-deployment practices regarding nuclear weapons and ballistie missiles."

Mr Raufs emphasis is on "pragmatic arms control strategies that focus on accommodation, not appeasement or confrontation."

Mr Pallone said, "our goal should be to make India a partner in the American foreign policy goal of missing the threat of nuclear war. One way of accomplishing this is to take the long overdue step of accepting India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The key is to make India a partner for peace, and not to isolate India and further contribute to the perception that India’s legitimate security concerns and not receiving adequate attention or respect." (UNI)

Vajpayee to arrives Lahore today amidst tight security

Vajpayee, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan since Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, will be received upon his arrival on board the inaugural Delhi-Lahore bus service at the Wagah border by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

After a ceremonial welcome, both the Prime Ministers will fly to Governor’s house here, some 25 kms from Wagah, where Vajpayee will be staying during his two-day trip being keenly watched by the international community.

The Kashmir issue, the post-nuclear situation in South Asia, and other outstanding bilateral issues, are likely to dominate Vajpayee’s talks with Sharif. Both countries are under pressure from Western powers to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and reduce tension.

Setting the tone for the significant summit on Pakistani soil, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who will be among the 20-member delegation that will accompany the Prime Minister, said yesterday it is our view that this is the most historic engagement between the two countries after the Simla agreement.

Singh’s views were echoed by his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz who said it is a historic event which allows the two countries to discuss their differences at the highest political level.

Aziz, however, warned that a sterile dialogue without any progress on resolution of the Kashmir could not be sustained.

Vajpayee’s visit has been strongly opposed by the Jaamat-e-Islami which has decided to observe a black day throughout the country and a complete bandh in Lahore. Kashmiri separatists groups Laskar-e-Tayyaba, Al-Akhwan, and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, have also opposed the trip.

Go back Vajpayee banners have appeared overnight on walls not far from the Wagah border and in Lahore City. Jammat chief Qazi Hussein in a pamphlet distributed after Friday prayers in the city appealed to the people to come out on the streets to disrupt Vajpayee’s visit.

The threats have forced authorities to make extraordinary security measures in and around Lahore to avoid any untoward incident. Armed security personnel have been deployed on all important roads in the city.

During his stay, Vajpayee is scheduled to visit Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi, Dera Sahib Gurdwara, and tomb of renowned poet Iqbal apart from attending a banquet in his honour at the historic Lahore Fort.

The city has all been spruced up for Vajpayee’s visit with all important crossings renovated with lights, traditional earthen pots and flowers. (PTI)