India is unlikely to respond to any major bilateral issues during Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's two-day visit to New Delhi starting Tuesday.
"Aziz is coming here to extend invitation for the SAARC summit," a Ministry of External Affairs diplomat said. "He will meet [Prime Minister] Manmohan Singh just for 30 minutes on November 24. Even if bilateral issues crop up nothing will emerge because it is not a bilateral meeting."
Aziz's arrival is considered important to keep the peace talks on track, especially after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent statements.
Addressing a South Asian Federation of Media Association conference on November 20, Musharraf accused India of adopting a "patronising attitude".
Hurriyat should be included in the talks, he said, dismissed the reduction of Indian troops in J&K as "cosmetic".
Next day, from the same platform, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri downplayed Musharraf's remarks. His Indian counterpart Natwar Singh also tried to douse the flame. "It is an old question. Not an event. Result cannot be expected in a day or two."
Although Indian officials link Aziz's visit to the SAARC summit, the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi expects that on the agenda will be Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference's role in the talks, the issue of the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of the Iran-India gas pipeline via Pakistan.
Aziz will meet Hurriyat leaders on Wednesday evening, a Pakistan high commission official told rediff.com
Although India resents the meeting, it consented to show its flexibility.
"Hurriyat leaders are, after all, Indian nationals. Any visiting dignitary can meet Indians," the MEA diplomat said.
"The Iran-India gas pipeline is a bilateral issue between Iran and India. We are just supporting it," the Pakistani diplomat said. "India wants energy. Its fuel need is rising at 7-9 per cent and they need to add to their sources of supply. India will benefit if this pipeline project comes through. At the same time, it will help tremendously in raising confidence between India and Pakistan."
According to an Indian diplomat dealing with the issue, New Delhi has three conditions.
First, it wants Pakistan to guarantee the pipeline's security.
Secondly, the project must be part of the peace process.
Thirdly, India wants the pipeline to be part of the broader trade relations.
The pipeline issue is not the only one to hit a roadblock.
On December 7-8, a Pakistani technical team will be in India to discuss the bus service.
The service, if it materialises, could be a turning point in people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
But no positive results are expected immediately.
Pakistan wants a special pass system to let the people of 'Azad Kashmir' to enter the Indian side, something India finds unacceptable.
Still, the meeting is being considered as a step forward.
According to the Pakistan diplomat, "If India thinks that Azad Kashmir is a part of India, why should India ask for visa from Kashmiris coming from other side of the Line of Control? They too are Indians, according to Indian claims.
"India keeps saying that not just state of J&K, but Azad Kashmir is also integral part of India. So the people of Azad Kashmir should be also acknowledged as Indians. Why do Indians need visa? After all, Line of Control is not the international border. Also, How can India insist for visa to cross a border that is not permanent? Pakistan considers travel of people of Azad Kashmir to the India-occupied Kashmir as intra-Kashmir travel."
New Delhi argues that hundreds of people from PoK have visited India, including J&K, on Pakistani passports and Indian visas. "Why can't they still do it? Our position is simple: whoever has a Pakistan passport will need visa from India to enter India," said the Indian diplomat.
"Even if a magical solution is found to overcome the issue of visa documentation, Pakistan is wary of the bus service. It will expose the poor people of PoK to a relatively much better developed Srinagar," said the diplomat.
According to reports, when Kasuri met Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi in September, he expressed concerns regarding the bus service and signalled that it is unlikely to start.
Aziz has a tight schedule and will not meet journalists.
On Monday, he will arrive at 1500 IST by a special aircraft.
Two hours later he will meet Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh.
Later, he will meet Mani Shanker Aiyar, the petroleum minister.
At 1845 Aziz will meet former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee at his residence.
On Wednesday, Aziz's first meeting will be with Lal Kishenchand Advani.
Later, he will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and then he will have a luncheon meeting with his Indian counterpart.
Aziz will also call on President A P J Kalam.
Meanwhile, Advani has accepted Pakistan's invitation to visit his birthplace in Sindh province after the winter session of Parliament.
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