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No bugs found in PM?s hotel suite, but officials are cautious
Although no electronic bugs were found, the Indian delegation has been advised not to discuss sensitive issues on the phone or in the room.
The VVIP suite of Hotel Serina was turned upside down days before the PM's arrival. Insiders say the hotel, which has been taken over by the Indian delegation, was debugged. Sleuths scanned the VVIP suite and the rooms meant for Yashwant Sinha, Brajesh Mishra and other senior officials. Although no electronic bugs were found, the Indian delegation has been advised not to discuss sensitive issues on the phone or in the room.
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Not much is known about what transpired at the meeting between Vajpayee and his Pak counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. But at the summit's inaugural, Jamali treated Vajpayee with utmost respect. The Pak premier ensured that other Saarc leaders were a step behind Vajpayee while being escorted to the dais. Jamali later introduced him as a visionary, a poet, a prolific writer and an able politician. "All these are qualities of a true leader," he observed after Vajpayee's speech.
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The audience clapped, not once but twice, while Vajpayee was on his feet. He struck an instant rapport with his audience by driving home the relevance of a slogan on a hoarding that had caught his attention near Islamabad airport: "Together we stand a better chance in the world." In his view, that wasn't just a slogan, but the profound truth in the context of South Asia. There was applause again when the PM talked about a bold transition from mistrust to trust.
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Among those accompanying the PM is his foster son-in-law, Ranjan Bhattacharya. Housed in the sprawling Serina hotel, the Indian entourage also includes the PM's principal secretary Brajesh Mishra, external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha and foreign secretary Shashank. A cook from the Taj Group is at hand to prepare Indian cuisine for the premier and his team.
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Islamabad is abuzz with the talk of oil diplomacy steering the current round of peace moves between India and Pakistan. Jamali also referred to the need for a gas pipeline in his inaugural address at the summit. The idea of a gas pipeline is a practical one given the growing energy needs of the region. However, the current round of back-channel diplomacy is being linked to an earlier attempt involving an Indian company having a big stake in the petrochemical sector.
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With their better halves busy with the Saarc summit, Ayesha Khan, the wife of Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, indulged in a different kind of diplomacy.
Ayesha accompanied Neelima Sinha, wife of external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, and Kalpana, wife of foreign secretary Shashank, to a guided tour of Lahore and Islamabad. The two women were so charmed by Lahore and Pakistani hospitality that they endorsed the need for early peace in the region.
