New Delhi, October 29
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could not have been more categoric in ruling out his meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York than today when he said at a joint Press conference with the visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that “If I have to meet Musharraf, I don’t have to go to New York as we can meet either in Delhi or Islamabad.”

Mr Schroeder, however, reiterated his remarks which he made earlier in the day in Islamabad during a joint press conference with President Musharraf there that India and Pakistan should resume the Agra process. He was in favour of annual talks between India and Pakistan. He, however, left the choice of place and timing to the two countries.

The USA apprehends that India might try to exploit the current international situation to its advantage and do something drastic like attacking the terrorist training camps being run in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Washington is worried that this kind of “adventurism” by India could trigger off a tinderbox situation in South Asia and distract USA’s and the world’s attention from Afghanistan. According to South Block-watchers here, the USA has been sending a host of world leaders, particularly from the developed world, to impress upon the Indian leadership the need to act with restraint vis a vis Pakistan. The USA has also been pressing India and Pakistan keep the dialogue process going. But the Indian stand has been rather firm and unequivocal that it saw no reason in talking to Pakistan any more till it stopped its cross-border terrorism against India and demonstrated it through its deeds rather than words.

A spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs also said today that the October 1 attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and the October 27 attempted storming of Avantipur airbase by terrorists demonstrated that Pakistan had not budged from its position of cross-border terrorism.