The government has suggested Kochi — where India and Pakistan will play a one-day international on April 2 — as the preferred venue for the visit of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. According to a PMO spokesman, the date has been suggested to Islamabad as a slot for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be available.
If Musharraf chooses to travel via New Delhi, Singh will host him over lunch. If he travels directly to Kochi, the prime minister will travel there to join him to watch the cricket.
There is no formal agenda for bilateral talks, the spokesman said. "As far as we are concerned, the Pakistani president is coming to India for a cricket match," the spokesman said.
Musharraf and Singh will talk about many things, including bilateral matters, but not with any pre-set, formal agenda — contrary to what Pakistani foreign office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani has said. Jilani suggested there would be formal bilateral talks as the visit was being hosted by the Indian PM.
The two leaders will almost certainly speak of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, set to begin on April 7, though Delhi is apprehensive of a possible delay since Pakistan only started issuing travel permit forms from Monday — a week late.
Meanwhile, the Immigration Department at the Indo-Pak border in Wagah said 34 Pakistani cricket fans had gone missing after their arrival for the cricket Test in Mohali. In the past four days, only 2,720 Pakistani cricket fans of the 2,754 who had come to India last week returned to their country.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the Immigration Department at the Indo-Pak border in Wagah said 34 Pakistani cricket fans had gone missing after their arrival for the cricket Test in Mohali. In the past four days, only 2,720 Pakistani cricket fans of the 2,754 who had come to India last week returned to their country.
{{/usCountry}}(With inputs from HT Corporate Bureau)