New Delhi, October 9
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has impressed upon Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who telephoned him yesterday, to focus on all-round improvement of bilateral relations rather than sticking to a single-point agenda like Kashmir.

Mr Vajpayee’s advice to General Musharraf is significant in view of the fact that the Pakistani military ruler has stuck to his one-track approach of focussing on Kashmir alone. This attitude of his had earlier effectively derailed the Agra summit.

Ms Nirupama Rao, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters today that during his telephonic conversation with General Musharraf, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to continue dialogue and General Musharraf agreed. “There is no other way (for improvement of bilateral relations) but dialogue. There is a need to increase communication and deepen and strengthen the process of peace,” the spokesperson said.

Asked to comment on why General Musharraf, who just recently threatened India to “lay off”, took the initiative of calling up the Prime Minister, the spokesperson said this only vindicated the Indian stand and buttressed New Delhi’s policy of the need for maintaining dialogue.

On a question whether India had heard anything from the State Department of the US on President George W Bush’s assurance to Mr Vajpayee exactly 48 hours before that Washington was going to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the spokesperson replied in the negative. However, she did say that the Indian Government was deeply satisfied that the issue of the JeM was under consideration at the highest level of the USA.