Islamabad, Nov 20: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would take part in the Saarc summit here in January but would not have bilateral talks with any Pakistani leader, a private Pakistani TV network which interviewed External Affairs Minster Yashwant Sinha said today. According to geo TV, Sinha said the Indian Prime Minister would attend the summit but would not hold any one to one meeting with any Pakistani leader to discuss bilateral issues. There was speculation here that Vajpayee would meet his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, if not President Pervez Musharraf to formally kick start the composite dialogue. In the excerpts of the interview aired by the channel, Sinha also strongly refuted Pakistan's oft repeated allegations that Indian consulates in the Afghan cities of Kandahar and Jalalabad were promoting terrorism against Pakistan and also warned that Islamabad would be held responsible if any staff members of the Indian missions in these two cities were attacked. "This is totally baseless and unfounded propaganda being carried out by Pakistan. We know that", he said while referring to allegations levelled by Jamali and Interior Minister, Faisal Saleh Hayat.
Bureau Report