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Vajpayee-Musharraf summit likely
in July first half, says Mahajan

Vajpayee, who briefed the Union Cabinet about his decision to invite Pakistan military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for talks, will leave for Bombay on June 6 for the operation the next day at Breach Candy hospital.

He is likely to remain in Bombay for about 10 days and thereafter undergo post-operative physiotherapy for a minimum two weeks before attending important public functions, Mahajan told reporters.

"Since the summit cannot take place before the end of June, it is expected to be held either in the first or the second week of July," he said, adding that no dates have been finalised.

Since this was the first meeting of the Cabinet after the May 23 government announcement calling off the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir and simultaneously extending an invitation to Musharraf for talks, Vajpayee used the occasion to brief colleagues on his letter and the response of the Pakistani military ruler.

Vajpayee stressed that the government was keen on having peace in the region, Mahajan said, adding that the prime minister wanted to give "another chance" to his peace initiative.

While India was in favour of engaging with a democratic set-up in Pakistan, it also could not overlook the reality of a military regime in place there, he said recalling that New Delhi in the past has dealt with military rulers in Pakistan.

Although the Line of Control remained quiet during the last six months, Mahajan said the ceasefire in J&K had not yielded the desired results with civilian killings by militants going up.

Musharraf had suggested June 20, June 25, the end of June or early July, for the summit.

In response to Vajpayee's briefing, which lasted for about 10 minutes, some cabinet ministers suggested that India put forward its stand in clear terms during the summit.

The prime minister said that while taking the decision to invite Musharraf, the Cabinet Committee on Security had taken into account the views of Union Home Minister L K Advani and Defence and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who had recently attended a meeting of the unified command of security forces in Srinagar.

The strong desire for peace by the people of Jammu and Kashmir was another key factor that was taken into account by the CCS, Mahajan said.

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