Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=07/20/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=INDIA/PAKISTAN (L-only)

NUMBER=2-278449

BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA

DATELINE=NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: India's foreign minister has accepted an invitation to visit Islamabad, days after an India-Pakistan summit ended in a stalemate. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, India says it will carry forward the peace process with Pakistan.

TEXT: Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh accepted the invitation to travel to Islamabad, though no date has been set. The news came as opposition parties critical of the summit's failure to achieve progress on key issues, backed the government's resolve to pursue lower-level negotiations.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has told critical opposition leaders that New Delhi will -quote - "pick up the threads" of his summit with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Both countries have denied that the failure to agree on a joint declaration meant this week's summit ended in a deadlock. They say the talks marked the beginning of a new dialogue process after a two-year freeze.

But in recent days, India has been blaming Islamabad for the failure of the summit. Prime Minister Vajpayee told opposition leaders that the talks ended without agreement because of Pakistan's insistence on discussing only the

Kashmir dispute. India wants a broader dialogue that would include issues such as nuclear security and what India calls cross-border terrorism.

Opposition parties have criticized the government for pursuing the high-level talks without first setting an agenda.

Brahma Chellaney, a leading security analyst in New Delhi, also says the summit failed because the two countries had not set an agenda for the talks. He says the two countries should pursue a dialogue at a lower level to prepare the ground for meaningful high level talks in future.

/ / / CHELLANEY ACTUALITY / / /

The problem, at the moment, is that the dialogue needs an agenda, it needs a

structure -- because you cannot have a dialogue without an agreement even on

what to talk about. So the problem that India and Pakistan are facing today

is to have a dialogue that serves the purpose, that has a mission, and, more

importantly, that has an agenda.

/ / / END ACTUALITY / / /

Meanwhile, Indian officials say Prime Minister Vajpayee is unlikely to make a reciprocal visit to Islamabad for talks this year. He had accepted Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's invitation to visit Pakistan during the summit meeting. But Mr. Vajpayee is expected to meet the Pakistani leader on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting in New York in September.

/ / / REST OPT / / /

India and Paksitan's decision to carry on the dialogue process has won approval from several quarters. Among them are foreign ministers from the powerful Group of Eight nations. They have welcomed the summit meeting

between India and Pakistan, and said they strongly support the two countries' intention to continue the dialogue. (signed)

NEB/AP/TW