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Advani, Jaswant, Maran to advise PM at summit

George Iype in Agra

The millennium's first summit between India and Pakistan against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal in Agra on Sunday will begin on a note of equality.

Both delegations will have nine members.

The Indian delegation at the summit will be led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Assisting him will be Home Minister L K Advani, External Affairs/Defence Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran.

The officials who will assist Vajpayee and his ministerial team will be Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan Vijay Nambiar and Joint Secretary (Pakistan) in the ministry of external affairs Vivek Katju.

The Pakistan delegation will be led by President Pervez Musharraf. He will be assisted by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, Foreign Secretary Inam-ul Haq and Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Ashraf Jahangir Qazi.

Chief of Staff to the Pakistan president Lieutenant General Ghulam Ahmad, Information Secretary M Anwar Mahmood, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Rashid Quereshi, Additional Secretary in the foreign ministry Asif Ezdi and Kashmir Affairs Director Mohammad Sadiq are the other members of the delegation.

The summit will begin with a 45-minute one to-one meeting between Vajpayee and Musharraf. Official sources said only an official record keeper will be present at the meeting between the two leaders.

Soon after the one to one encounter, the leaders will be joined by their respective delegations to discuss the issues that could form a joint declaration on Monday.

The teams will take an hour off for lunch; the talks will resume at 1400.

Officials said the attempt is to ensure that the talks are held in a most relaxed manner. "We have suggested that the delegations wear casuals to ensure that too much formality does not lead to a tense situation," one diplomat told rediff.com

The Indian government has booked the entire Jaypee Palace hotel for the summit. More than 150 officials from the Prime Minister's Office, ministry of defence and external affairs are giving final touches to the summit venue.

Vajpayee's family, including son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya, will stay with him at the Jaypee Palace. The prime minister, senior Cabinet ministers and top officials will reach Agra late on Saturday night, after they attend the banquet hosted by President K R Narayanan for Musharraf.

Musharraf and his entourage will reach Agra on Sunday morning. The Pakistan president will check into the Amar Vilas hotel and proceed to the Jaypee Palace at 1100 hours.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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