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Indian, Pakistani Leaders Go to Kazakhstan Amid War Threat
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| Vajpayee
ruled out a meeting with Musharraf
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ALMATY,
Kazakhstan
, June 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The leaders of
India
and
Pakistan
were headed on Sunday, June 2, for an Asian summit in Almaty, the
commercial capital of
Kazakhstan
, where
Russia
hopes to haul the two nuclear-armed rivals back from the brink of war.
Indian
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf are both to attend the June 4 conference in Almaty, which is
set to be dominated by efforts to defuse tension between the rival
neighbors, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
They
are scheduled to take part in the first Conference on Interaction and
Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a regional grouping of 16
Asian, Central Asian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
nations.
The
gathering is due to adopt the Almaty Act, a document which will
outline the group's views and policies on major international and
regional issues.
But
with the south Asian powers edging closer to war, the Almaty gathering
appeared to present a rare opportunity for Vajpayee and Musharraf to
meet and break the ice.
The
two leaders last met face-to-face during a South Asian summit in
Nepal
in January, when the Pakistani president shook the Indian prime
minister's hand after making a speech, but the lack of genuine warmth
was patent.
Although
Musharraf, who arrived Sunday in Tajikistan where he is making a
one-day visit, has said he is willing to talk to Vajpayee in
Kazakhstan, the Indian prime minister Sunday ruled out the meeting,
dealing a blow to efforts by world leaders to try to defuse tension
between the two nuclear-ready rivals.
India
insists that Musharraf has not done enough against Islamic militants
to deserve a meeting.
“There
is no proposal for talks with Musharraf,” Vajpayee said shortly
before flying off to Almaty.
The
conference will also give Russian President Vladimir Putin another
stage on which to present himself as a force for stability and
security in the world.
He
is expected to meet Musharraf and Vajpayee separately on the sidelines
of the conference with the aim of brokering a face-to-face session
between the two leaders.
The
conference, which will also be attended by Chinese President Jiang
Zemin, comes after a May 14 attack in disputed
Kashmir
that left 35 people dead, most of them women and children.
The
assault aggravated an already heated stand-off that began in December
2001 when
India
blamed
Pakistan
for an attack on the Indian parliament. Both countries have now massed
around a million troops on their border.
The
Kazakh summit is the latest stage in an international campaign to end
the military stand-off that has seen
Britain
and
Japan
dispatch top envoys to the region.
The
United States
, alarmed at the prospect of a nuclear war and concerned the crisis
could damage its anti-terror campaign, is sending Deputy Secretary of
State Richard Armitage and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Musharraf
has dismissed talk of a nuclear showdown with
India
, saying in an interview on Saturday, June 1, that neither country was
“irresponsible” enough to push the button.
Nevertheless,
the threat of a conflict between the two rivals has prompted western
governments and the United Nations to advise families of staff to
leave both
India
and
Pakistan
.
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