As part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's efforts to reach out to the Opposition, Government on Tuesday briefed BJP top leadership on India's relations with Pakistan, Nepal and other neighbouring countries.
The luncheon meeting at Prime Minister's official Race Course Road residence was attended by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of Opposition LK Advani, Jaswant Singh and former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee briefed the BJP leaders on the "situation in India's neighbourhood and India's relationship with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka," PM's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said.
The Prime Minister had driven down to Vajpayee's residence on December 25 to greet him, evoking appreciation from several BJP leaders.
Indo-Pak relations figured in the discussions. Mukherjee will be calling on President Pervez Musharraf and meeting his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mohd Kasuri when he travels to Islamabad on January 13 to invite Pakistani leadership to attend the SAARC summit to be held in New Delhi in April.
The meeting comes amid ongoing preparations for negotiating bilateral agreement to operationalise the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. The BJP has voiced serious concerns over the American legislation to put in place the July 18, 2005 deal.
There was no official word whether the nuclear issue came up during the discussion. The meeting was also attended by National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon.
{{/usCountry}}There was no official word whether the nuclear issue came up during the discussion. The meeting was also attended by National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon.
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