No talks with Pakistan at Saarc: Vajpayee

Daily Times Monitor

New York: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Friday ruled out bilateral talks with Pakistan during his visit to Islamabad for the Saarc summit in January next, reports an Indian web portal.

“There is no proposal for talks (in Islamabad). There is no atmosphere for this. It would not be useful,” he told a press conference wrapping up his week-long visit to New York for attending the United Nations General Assembly. Asked whether it was fair to assume that the peace initiative started in Srinagar in May has ended in New York with the “slanging match” between the two countries at the UN, Vajpayee said, “Whatever has happened is not right and should not have happened.” He also rejected a suggestion that continuing the peace process was a sign of weakness by India and said because of the initiative, the world believes India is sincere.

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