Dashing Pakistani hopes, India on Tuesday ruled out any bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf during the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, saying Islamabad was yet to take any credible and visible action against terrorist outfits behind December 13 attack on Parliament.
No meeting has been planned, on the fringes of the three-day summit beginning Friday, Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer told reporters in Kathmandu. Her comments came shortly after a senior Pakistani official voiced the hope that the summit retreat on Saturday could present a good opportunity for Musharraf and Vajpayee to work on something positive.
Though India has ruled out structured bilateral meeting between Vajpayee and Musharraf or the foreign ministers of the two countries, officials do not rule out chance interaction between the leaders at any of the various opportunities offered by the summit. Apart from the inaugural function when the leaders belonging to all the seven-member countries would be together, they may also come across each other during the host king Gyanandra's dinner, the retreat and some other summit engagements.
Interestingly, both Vajpayee and Musharraf would be staying in the same Soaltee Crown Plaza Hotel. Bureau Report