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Indian, Pakistani Leaders May Meet in New York
NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The leaders of nuclear-powered rivals India and Pakistan may meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York in November, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would both be attending the General Assembly in the second week of November, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
In Islamabad, Pakistan has said there is a likelihood of a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next month.
"There is a chance of the two leaders meet as Musharraf too would go to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly session," Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said in an interview on Pakistani TV Saturday.
"On our part, we would be ready to resume the dialogue process with India and if they reciprocated there is likelihood of a meeting between the two leaders at the sidelines of the UNGA session," Sattar said.
Asked about the rationale behind Pakistan's desire to resume dialogue with India, Sattar said, "being the immediate neighbors it would be in the best interest of both India and Pakistan to settle all their outstanding matters through peaceful and meaningful dialogue."
"There should not be any heart burning in India if Pakistan gets any benefit in view of the prevailing situation due to its pivotal role in the fight against terrorism. At least they should shun such an attitude if there is no harm to them," Sattar said.
Sattar said Pakistan's policy has yielded greatly in its favor. It is currently the focus of world attention and nations around the world are appreciating its stance against terrorism.
"They are also extending economic assistance to Pakistan to stabilize its fragile economy in the face unprecedented economic pressures due to U.S. attacks on Afghanistan," he continued.
Vajpayee and Musharraf were due to meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last month, but the meeting was cancelled following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The Indian foreign office dismissed the report as "hypothetical" but that the Pakistani foreign office had "hinted strongly" at a possible meeting, news agencies reported.
The Asian Age paper said the dates for Musharraf's address to the General Assembly were being worked out with an eye on Vajpayee's visit to New York.
"If the dates coincide, as Islamabad hopes, the two leaders could meet to comply with Washington's request to bring down the rising temperatures in the region," the paper said.
U.S. President George W. Bush recently called on the rivals to "stand down" in their dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir for the sake of regional stability.
Vajpayee has accepted an invitation from Bush to a "working visit" to Washington on November 9.
Musharraf and Vajpayee last met in July in the Taj Mahal town of Agra for the first summit meeting between leaders of the two countries in more than two years. But the talks broke down with each side blaming the other for its intransigence on Kashmir.
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