Indian PM Gets Opposition Backing ahead of Pakistan Summit

Published July 9th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee won the full backing of opposition parties Monday as he pledged to stop Kashmir becoming the sole issue at next weekend's Indo-Pakistan summit. 

"Pakistan says Kashmir is a core issue and India doesn't want to talk about Kashmir. This is not true," Vajpayee told an all-party meeting in New Delhi. 

"Even now there is no reservation about talking about Kashmir. But Kashmir is not one issue alone. It has to be seen in its entirety," Vajpayee was quoted as saying by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan. 

As well as Kashmir, India wanted to raise issues like cross-border terrorism and trade, as well as ways to improve economic ties and people to people contacts, Vajpayee said. 

Indian opposition parties had expressed concerns that Islamabad was being allowed to set the agenda for the July 15 peace summit between Vajpayee and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf in the Taj Mahal town of Agra -- NEW DELHI (AFP) 

 

© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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