US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca rushed to Islamabad on Monday morning by a special aircraft without meeting any Indian leaders in the wake of the grenade attack on a church in Islamabad on Sunday. Rocca cancelled all her scheduled meetings with Indian leaders to hold urgent discussions in Pakistan with the Pakistani authorities on the grenade attack in which several US nationals were killed on Sunday. Rocca was briefed about developments in Pakistan when she was on a visit to the historic Taj Mahal in Agra on Sunday. She reached New Delhi on Saturday night and remained closeted with senior diplomats of the US mission on this issue.
The US Assistant Secretary of State was scheduled to hold talks with external affairs minister Jaswant Singh, national security advisor Brijesh Mishra and several others on Indo-US relations and developments in the South Asian region.
It is not known as yet whether she will return from Islamabad for talks with the Indian leaders. During her visit to Islamabad, she will meet President Musharaff and his senior cabinet colleagues besides US ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin. Bureau Report