Not much expected at Saarc meet: Govt

As Pakistan continued to express the hope that the SAARC summit in January would yield the beginnings of a dialogue on Kashmir, top sources in the Indian government conceded that while the intention for further talks between India and Pakistan at the diplomatic level might be announced at the summit, no dramatic announcements on talks or breakthrough on the issue should be expected.

"The Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will undoubtedly come face to face with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. He has said today that infiltration is down, so this could create conditions for pleasantness. But do not expect an Agra-type meeting. It could be a courtesy call on the Pakistan President""nothing more," sources said.

In Islamabad, however, hopes were high. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said Islamabad believed the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (Saarc) summit would provide a way forward for the resumption of the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue.

"We sincerely hope that Indian leaders would reciprocate the spirit in which we have made these gestures with a view to moving towards the resumption of a substantive and composite dialogue on all issues, including the core dispute of Kashmir," Kasuri said.

He said the resolution of the Kashmir issue was "an essential pre-requisite for making headway in ushering in an era of peace, stability and progress in South Asia."

The India said the foreign secretary-level talks could be announced, to be followed by a meeting of diplomats of the two countries to discuss the agenda. The actual meeting could go into the summer of 2004.