New Delhi, April 7: The top secret communication from Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, to President Bhutto, calling for preparatory talks before the proposed summit meeting between them, was sent in a sealed cover during the last week-end through a special Swiss envoy to avoid premature publicity to it. As a result, even the Swiss Embassy, which transmitted the sealed cover through one of its senior envoys in the region, who happened to be transiting New Delhi on his way to Islamabad, was not aware of what exactly Mrs. Gandhi had written to Mr. Bhutto in the communication. But there was no mystery about the contents since the Indian position had been adequately spelt out by both Mrs. Gandhi and Mr. Swaran Singh in their public pronouncements and private exchanges with other powers, which have been lending a helping hand in getting the dialogue started soon. Nevertheless, the Government felt that it would be desirable to maintain secrecy during these initial approaches to avoid embarrassment to either side. The Prime Minister wrote to Mr. Bhutto before Mr. Swaran Singh’s arrival in Moscow on Monday to avoid the impression that India was proposing these talks at the Soviet instance. She also followed up her communication with the reassuring statement in Parliament to make it easier for Mr. Bhutto to respond positively to the Indian initiative for direct discussions without any outside interference.
