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Vajpayee rejects possibilities of going to Pakistan

TIMES NEWS NETWORK, New Delhi
Indian Prime Minister has been invited to Pakistan at a time of his choosing, but has not accepted the invitation.
"I was invited to visit Pakistan by the prime minister of that country but I did not accept it," he said, in response to questions at the weekly meeting of the BJP parliamentary party on Tuesday.
The PM's statement that he had "not accepted" the invitation is being interpreted in party and official circles as indicating that the PM meant "not yet". "It is not a blanket no," a BJP MP said.
PTI reports that late at night, the government clarified that the invitation issue figured in a "very general way" between the two leaders and was not pursued
further. "It is not correct to say, as reported in some section of the media, that the PM did not accept the invitation to visit Pakistan, extended by Jamali," an external affairs ministry spokesman said.
"The idea of Vajpayee visiting Pakistan or Jamali coming to India was mentioned by the Pak PM in a very general way," he said.
Meanwhile foreign diplomats in India welcomed the telephonic conversation between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan and hoped that it would lead to a sustained engagement between the two countries.
German ambassador Heimo Richter termed it ''a very significant and hopeful sign'' adding: ' 'We share the conviction expresssed by Prime Minister Vajpayee, both in Srinagar and in
Parliament, that the existing problems cannot be solved by the gun. They can only be solved by dialogue between India and Pakistan. We encourage all concerned to do whatever possible to reach that end.''
The Netherlands embassy also said it welcomed the conversation while a diplomat from the European Union said: ''It is a good thing.'' Asked about the benchmarks set by India for resumption of dialogue, the diplomat said: ''There is nothing to suggest they have disappeared. The best way to achieve them is through dialogue.''
A senior diplomat from a neighbouring country hoped that the momentum could be maintained. He said his hope was based on the fact that the conversation could not have been sudden or
spontaneous but a well-thought out decision and must have taken place following a lot of behind-the-scenes activity. ''A lot of us in the region suffer when these are dips in the relationship between India and Pakistan,'' he pointed out.
On the other hand, anxious to know in the Lok Sabha from Government as to what were the new developments that prompted Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to offer a hand of friendship to Pakistan, Samata Party, a key partner in the ruling NDA, supported by opposition parties, sought a statement from him.
Raising the issue shortly after the House assembled yesterday morning, Samata Party member Prabhunath Singh said reports had appeared in newspapers that Vajpayee and his Pakistani coun-
terpart had telephonic talks and he was even invited to visit Islamabad.
"We are not against dialogue but there must be some basis for it," he said, recalling that whenever India initiated peace talks, "we had to face problems."
Citing examples, he said when Vajpayee undertook Lahore bus journey, India faced Kargil war and when President Musharraf was invited to Agra for talks, a series of terrorist attacks took place including those on Indian Parliament and J&K Assembly.
"We want to know what is that new situation and new development that has prompted Vajpayee to initiate peace talks," Singh said, demanding "the Prime Minister must take us into confidence."