India to invite Aziz for SAARC Summit

Pranab Mukherjee who is on a visit to Pak, says he will travel to Islamabad to extend the invitation to Musharraf.

With Pakistan indicating that President Pervez Musharraf might not be attending the New Delhi SAARC Summit, India has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for the April 3-4 meet.

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External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit, said he carried an invitation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for Aziz to attend the summit of the eight-nation regional grouping.

In November, Mukherjee had said that he would travel to Islamabad to extend the invitation to Musharraf.

However, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri indicated on Thursday that the President might not go to New Delhi, as Pakistan wanted Singh to visit Islamabad first.

Kasuri had said that Musharraf had already visited India in 2005 and it was Singh's turn to make a reciprocal visit.

The decision to invite Aziz for the Summit appears to have been taken at the last minute by India.