Singh meets Vajpayee ahead of talks

NEW DELHI: The Indian government met its coalition allies and opposition leaders on Friday ahead of eagerly awaited talks with Pakistan, officials said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a breakfast meeting with his predecessor, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who launched the peace process by extending a “hand of friendship” to Pakistan in April last year. The hour-long meeting was also attended by External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and his predecessor Yashwant Sinha. The Indian foreign minister later held long discussions with ruling United Progressive Alliance leaders Ram Vilas Paswan from the Lok Janshakti, Mehbooba Mufti from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Jammu and Kashmir, Dayanidhi Maran from Tamil Nadu’s MDMK and Dalit Ramdas Athavale from the Republican Party of India (RPI).Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, who will lead the Indian delegation in talks with his Pakistan counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, also met opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani on Thursday. Officials say the government wants to build a national consensus about the peace process, and especially over the sensitive dispute with Pakistan about the Himalayan region of Kashmir. iftikhar gilani

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