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Musharraf's talks with Vajpayee end

The third round of one-on-one talks between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan ended at about 1330 IST at the Jaypee Palace Hotel in Agra.

The two leaders were expected to try and break the deadlock on Kashmir and work out proposals to carry forward the process of peace.

But they apparently did not achieve their objective, because it was reported that General Musharraf had delayed his departure for Ajmer and would be meeting Vajpayee again for a fourth round of talks after a quick lunch.

Earlier, General Musharraf drove to the venue of the meeting after a breakfast meeting with editors of leading publications, in the course of which he flatly stated that no progress was possible unless the Kashmir issue was recognised as a dispute.

Given the tough postures adopted by both sides on the Kashmir issue, a fear that the summit would be derailed forced the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan to work overnight to finalise a joint statement which is expected to show the way forward.

Prime Minister Vajpayee and Pakistan President Musharraf directed their respective foreign secretaries, Chokila Iyer and Inam-ul-Haq, to meet late last night after dinner to grapple with the nitty-gritty of irritants that came up.

A Pakistani spokesman said a "joint declaration" would be issued at the end of the summit.

UNI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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