Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
The proposals were made at a meeting the Charge d' Affaires, Sudhir Vyas, had at the Pakistan Foreign Office. The timing of the proposals, when the atmosphere is surcharged following the allegation of blocking Mr. Vyas' car, has evoked interest in diplomatic circles. In the course of the meeting, the Pakistan Foreign Office reportedly proposed immediate clearance of pending "Assignment Visas" of diplomats of both the countries. Islamabad also promised to hand over the large plot of land bought by India several years ago, just opposite where the mission is located, to enable it to construct residential quarters for its staff. Pakistan said that the 281 fishermen, who were identified by the Indian officials, would be deported as soon as India agreed to receive them. It also proposed that the fishermen be deported through the Wagah border, as it would take some time for their boats to be repaired. The number of the detained Indian fishermen has gone up to 400 in the recent weeks as the Pakistan Navy claimed to have caught 120 more.
SAARC meet
Scoffing at the statement made by the Minister of State for External Affairs Minister, Digvijay Singh, that India was open to the suggestion of holding SAARC summit meetings on a permanent basis in Kathmandu, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, said at the weekly news briefing that "India should stop throwing the spanner in the works, like it has been doing in the past. It should come and attend the summit.'' In an interview to a news agency, Mr. Singh had said that India was open to the suggestion (made by the Sri Lankan Envoy, Lakshman Kadirgamar) of holding SAARC summits on a regular basis in Kathmandu, where its secretariat is located, on the lines of the United Nations. He had made it clear that any decision on it would have to be through a consensus of the seven-member grouping. Mr. Khan said the procedure for holding of the summit had been spelt out in the SAARC summit and it could be changed only with the consent of all the members. At the moment, the summit meetings are held on a rotational basis. In response to another question if Pakistan was contemplating a change in foreign policy, Mr. Khan said "Pakistan and its people have always relied on their own resources to meet all their needs.'' The spokesman was asked to respond to the impression created by the statements at the highest level in the past few days that some changes were in the offing in the foreign policy. The question was in the context of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's statement that in times of crisis Pakistan would have to rely on its own resources. On why Pakistan continued to support the international coalition against terrorism despite the treatment by its ally, United States, Mr. Khan said Pakistan had joined hands because of its "principled position" of opposing terrorism. "Even before 9/11, Pakistan was a signatory to several U.N. conventions against terrorism. In fact, Pakistan has itself been a victim of terrorism,'' he said.
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