PPPP team meets Vajpayee

* Fahim hails Indian initiatives
* Fazl, Prof Khurshid meet Indian PM

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) delegation on Sunday met Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at a reception hosted by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad in Mr Vajpayee’s honour.

PPPP Vice Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim led the delegation including Northern Areas members of the National Assembly Nayyar Bokhari, Sherry Rehman, Ramesh Lal, former federal finance minister Ehsanul Haq Piracha and senators Enver Baig and Farhatullah Babar.

Mr Fahim said PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto wanted peace in the region. He said the PPP appreciated the Indian leader for his initiative to bring peace to the region.

Mr Fahim said the initiative and political standing of Mr Vajpayee offered a hope for peace in the region. Larkana Member of the National Assembly Ramesh Lal presented a memorandum to Mr Vajpayee asking him to offer more visa facilities for Pakistani Hindus to visit India. Ms Bhutto sent flowers to Mr Vajpayee as a welcome token.

Meanwhile, The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leaders on Sunday met separately with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the Indian High Commission. MMA Secretary General Maulana Fazlur Rehman held a ten-minute meeting with the Indian prime minister while Jamaat-e-Islami Naib Amir Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad and Prof Ghafoor Ahmad remained with Mr Vajpayee for three minutes.

Sources privy to the meetings told Daily Times that Maulana Rehman praised the Indian PM’s participation in the SAARC summit. “The Maulana praised the confidence-building measures announced by India and Pakistan to normalise situation between the two countries,” sources said.

They also said that Mr Rehman emphasised that India and Pakistan should resolve all disputes peacefully. This was the second meeting between the Maulana and Mr Vajpayee The first was held when the Maulana visited India last year. Sources said that Mr Vajpayee also told Mr Rehman that things were moving in the same manner which they had discussed in the New Delhi meeting.

Prof Khurshid Ahmad told Daily Times that during the meeting he welcomed the Indian PM’s participation in the summit. He said he told Mr Vajpayee that the two neighbouring countries should resolve contentious issues including Kashmir. —Staff Report

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