M A I N   N E W S

Pakistan says open borders possible
Test Pervez statements, says Bhutto
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13
Islamabad today described as “not unrealistic” Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s suggestions of open borders and a single currency in South Asia, even as Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto urged the two countries to follow the example of Indo-China relations in their bilateral matters.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan was quoted by a private television channel as saying that Mr Vajpayee’s proposals were “not unrealistic, but a difficult path to tread, which demanded hard work, firm resolve and sincerity.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zaffrullah Khan Jamali, while talking to reporters in Islamabad on his return from a visit to France and Switzerland, said about Mr Vajpayee’s proposal, “It is not easy to do and will take time.”

Meanwhile, Ms Bhutto today bowled a political googly to the military leadership of his country when she cited the example of India and China having good relations despite a border dispute.

“China and India have a border dispute but they do not threaten each other with war. In fact, relations between the two countries keep improving,” she said. She obviously suggested that New Delhi and Islamabad should move ahead towards a better relationship without prejudice to their differing positions and perceptions on the Kashmir issue.

Ms Bhutto did another favour to the Indian diplomacy when she virtually articulated the Indian stand by saying that the territorial dispute should not be allowed to hold the Indo-Pak relationship to ransom. She suggested that there were lessons to be learnt from the Sino-Indian experience.

However, everything that Ms Bhutto spoke was not music to New Delhi’s ears. She praised the All-Party Hurriyat Conference and indicated that her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) considered the APHC as an integral element in the political resolution of the Kashmir issue.

“The Hurriyat has an important role to play in facilitating peaceful conditions in Srinagar, as indeed in Muzaffarabad, whose parties are also part of the APHC,” she said.

Ms Bhutto hailed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as “a man of many surprises” who did not lose heart and went ahead with his peace initiative vis-a-vis Islamabad despite several setbacks.

“It goes to the credit of Mr Vajpayee that he did not lose heart despite the undermining of the bus diplomacy and the failure of the Agra Summit. But then he is a man of many surprises,” Ms Bhutto said at a conference on “Peace Dividend — Progress for India and South Asia”, organised here by Hindustan Times.

Ms Bhutto also warned against the “real danger” of militants attempting to derail the peace process and said the Indo-Pak leadership needed to discuss ways of having borders “which are soft and also safe”.

Later in the evening, at a press conference, she stressed that right now the focus of the two countries should be on opening borders, adding that these borders should be safe. She said there was no point in opening borders when these were not safe and when people travelled through these borders only to be shot at by terrorists.

Ms Bhutto said Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s “overt” statements for the normalisation of ties with India “must be put to the test” as since Independence, three wars between the two countries had taken place when Pakistan was under military rule.

She suggested that the ceasefire be followed up by talks on the reduction of levels of violence in Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that India extend the ceasefire to militants. Ms Bhutto said tensions between the two countries could be reduced only if Pakistan had a genuine democracy. 

Benazir’s visit alarms Islamabad

Islamabad, December 13
Taking exception to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s current visit to New Delhi, Pakistan has said the trip in the midst of normalisation process between the two countries was aimed at “damaging” next month’s SAARC Summit.

“Benzir never wanted normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan and to achieve this goal she is visiting India especially at this juncture,” Pakistan Information Minister Shiekh Rashid Ahmed said. — PTI

Pakistan to import Indian wheat

Islamabad, December 13
Facing a possible shortfall of a million tonnes of wheat, the Pakistan Government on yesterday announced that it would lift its ban on Indian wheat imports to cover it.

"Islamabad will allow purchase of 0.1 million tonnes wheat from India to meet the country's requirements and offset the adverse impact of anticipated crisis due to less than expected production in 2003-04," official sources were quoted by The Nation as saying.

Anticipating a wheat crisis, Pakistan's Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) had already moved a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for the import of 0.5 million tonnes of wheat.

MINFAL had strongly recommended the import of wheat from India after being told by the private sector that it would be impossible to import the commodity from any other country because of the inflated international pricing factor.

Wheat importers here had been putting pressure on the government to allow wheat imports from India, as it was available at a cheaper rate in comparison to other countries.

Other factors brought into consideration were the viable means of transportation i.e. by train through the Wagah border and the quick delivery time, an official said.

Recently, the government had announced an increase in the wheat support price — up to Rs.350 for each bag of 40 kg from Rs.300.

Wheat growers have welcomed this. — ANI