Musharraf offers hand of friendship

The inaugural session of the 11th South Asian meet that opened at the Birendra International Convention Centre yesterday was marred by the deep suspicions that mark Indo-Pakistan relations with the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee grudgingly accepting the hand of friendship proferred by the Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf.

The Pakistan president in keeping with his consistent plea for talks said at the end of a speech that departed from the prepared text that he was using the "exalted forum" provided by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to "extend the hand of friendship to Prime Minister Vajpayee," in the hope that the two leaders could work together for peace.

"I extend the hand of genuine and sincere friendship to Prime Minister Vajpayee. Let us together commence a journey of peace, harmony and progress in South Asia," Musharraf said.

Musharraf walked over to Vajpayee and shook his hand before taking his seat in a gesture that won warm applause from the audience. But none, observers noted, from Vajpayee.

In a speech that blamed India obliquely for letting "extraneous factors" delay the Saarc meet by more than three years, he said "no member should be allowed to hold Saarc to ransom."

"Using internal developments in one member state to disrupt the Saarc process should be unacceptable," he added in an obvious reference to India's scuttling of the summit in Dhaka soon after Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup in '99.

He vowed not to let that happen again under his tenure when Pakistan takes over as chairman of Saarc.

As one leader after another, spoke, including Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the latter emphasising that "state sponsorship of terrorism must end," Vajpayee went public with his concerns over Pakistan.

In a departure from his own prepared speech, a stern Vajpayee said, "I am glad that President Musharraf extended a hand of friendship to me. I have shaken his hand in your presence. Now President Musharraf must follow this gesture by not permitting any activity in Pakistan or any territory it controls today which enables terrorists to perpetrate mindless violence in India."

"I say this because of my past experience. I went to Lahore with a hand of friendship. We were rewarded by aggression in Kargil and the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft from Kathmandu. I invited President Musharraf to Agra. We were rewarded with a terrorist attack on the Jammu and Kashmir assembly and, last month, on the parliament of India."

Vajpayee's speech seem to effectively close any further demands for a one-to-one meeting in the backdrop of the current crisis.