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New Delhi/Islamabad: In his first visit to India, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
will invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit his country "by
the end of this year" when the two leaders hold one-on-one talks
here Sunday sans aides and note-takers.
"President Zardari will invite Prime Minister Singh to visit
Pakistan by the end of this year," Pakistan Foreign Office
spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters in Islamabad.
This is not the first time Pakistan leaders will be inviting
Manmohan Singh, but this is the first time a time-frame has been
set up, triggering speculation of substantive talks on Sunday
leading to a breakthrough that in turn could pave the way for such
a visit.
During a brief meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security
Summit in Seoul, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had
invited Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan. Manmohan Singh had
replied that he would be happy to do so if there was something
substantive and "something to celebrate."
After the talks, no formal statements are likely to be made by
both leaders and neither are any agreements likely to be
announced. The action will be mostly behind the scenes to bridge
the trust deficit on the so-called core issues, the sources said.
In Islamabad, the foreign office spokesperson described Zardari's
visit to India as "important." He said that although there was "no
agenda", the two leaders are expected to discuss all bilateral
issues and the regional situation.
"As far as the talks are concerned, there is no agenda and it is
not a structured dialogue," he said. "But when the two leaders
meet, bilateral issues between Pakistan and India and the regional
situation will be discussed."
"We expect this round (of the dialogue) to be completed in
June-July. After that, the Indian foreign minister is to visit
Pakistan to review the process," Basit said.
Manmohan Singh and Zardari are expected to discuss "all issues,"
including Kashmir and terror, that bedevil the India-Pakistan
relationship, said informed sources in New Delhi.
In the first presidential visit from Pakistan in the last seven
years, Zardari, accompanied by over 40-member delegation, comes
here to New Delhi Sunday morning.
After touching down in his special acircraft at 11.30 a.m.,
Zardari heads straight to the prime minister's official residence
at 7 Race Course Road for one-on-one talks, followed by lunch with
senior members of the delegation.
He flies in the afternoon to Ajmer to offer prayers at the Sufi
shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
Zardari will be accompanied by his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas
Jilani, presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, close members
of the family and the president's office.
The 24-year-old Bilawal, who took over as PPP chairman when he was
19 after the death of his mother Benazir Bhutto in 2007, will also
be at the private lunch Manmohan Singh is hosting for a small
group from both sides. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is
likely to be present at the lunch.
The inclusion of Jilani in the presidential delegation is
interesting as he was expelled by India in 2003 after being
accused of funnelling funds to Kashmiri separatists. Jilani was
then serving as Pakistan's deputy high commissioner to India.
The last time Manmohan Singh had one-on-one talks with Pakistani
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in the idyllic Addu island in
the Maldives, both leaders had declared their resolve to move
beyond post-Mumbai bitterness to herald a new chapter in their
volatile relations.
Since then, much water has flowed, with positive currents
dominating in the relationship. Pakistan has moved in the
direction of granting India Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Last month, a judicial team from Pakistan had visited India to
take forward the dragging trial of the 26/11 terror accused.
Amid improving ties, Hafiz Saeed, the suspected 26/11 mastermind
and the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, however, remains a festering
irritant. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday sought to
up the pressure on Islamabad, saying no amount of denial would
exonerate him "unless there is a judicial inquiry into the whole
episode whereby responsibilities can be fixed".
"But unfortunately, the Pakistan government has not thought it
proper to investigate this," said Krishna in a sharply-worded
reminder to Islamabad to act against the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief who
is carrying on his tirade against India with impunity.
The US announcement of a $10 million bounty on information leading
to the conviction of Saeed has only bolstered India's case.
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