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21-gun salute greets Musharraf at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf officially began his three-day visit to India when he was formally received at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday morning by President K R Narayanan and First Lady Usha Narayanan.

The general was given a 21-gun salute and a tri-service guard of honour under a slight drizzle outside the presidential palace where he will stay in Delhi.

The Indian soldiers stood at a distance two feet more than ordered by convention between the guest and the squadron. The conventional distance is about five feet between the red carpet and the front column, but today with the memory of Kargil still alive, the troops stood over seven feet away from the Pakistan president's red carpet route.

The general, who wore a cream sherwani, was introduced to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, Home Minister L K Advani, External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh, Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, Information & Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Vijay Kapoor, Mayor Shanti Desai and Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer among others.

President Narayanan was then introduced to the Pakistan delegation.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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