Natwar, Kasuri to brief Powell on talks

New Delhi, June 23 (NNN): The United States secretary of state Colin Powel will be meeting Indian minister for external affairs Kunwar Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri separately early next month in Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The meets will take place on July 2 in the margins of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) gathering.

It is believed that both the foreign ministers of South Asian countries would brief the US secretary of state about the recent developments with regard to their relations and ongoing process of talks.

The News quoting highly placed diplomatic sources said that all the three ministers would be gathering in Jakarta to attend the signing ceremony of agreement for amity and cooperation between the ten members of the ARF there.

This will also mark Islamabad's formal inclusion in the ARF, the sources said.

Washington has throughout been facilitating both the countries for interacting with each other to reduce tension between them and improve their bilateral relations.

In both the meetings, it is expected that the crucial question of sending troops for construction and rebuilding of Iraq would also be top on the agenda with reference to international issues of mutual interest.

The US is pressing both the countries to dispatch their troops to war ravaged country as the new administration will be in place by that time that will have approval of the United Nations.

Kasuri has already hinted that Pakistan would consider it favourably and a decision would be taken with the approval of the parliament in Islamabad.

Natwar Singh will be meeting his American counterpart second time in less than a month while Kasuri had frequent telephonic contact with the US secretary of state and he met him last in March when Colin Powel visited Islamabad and announced non-NATO allied partner status for Pakistan.

In Jakarta meeting Kasuri and Powel will also discuss global war on terrorism in which Pakistan and the United States are partners.

Situation prevailing in Afghanistan and ongoing military operation to wipe out militants from tribal areas of Pakistan will also come up for discussion.

Washington has praised the operation, the sources said.

Cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in various fields especially economic, trade and defence areas would also discussed in the meeting between Kasuri and Colin Powel, the sources added.

The meetings of the US secretary of state would have considerable importance as these would be taking place soon after Pakistan and India's first round of composite dialogue between the foreign secretaries of the two countries in New Delhi covering dispute of Kashmir, peace and security and nuclear-confidence building measures (CBMs).

US, Britain helping in 'fast moving' Indo-Pak talks on Kashmir: Jamali Islamabad, June 23 (NNN): The United States, Britain and several other countries are facilitating India and Pakistan for their current dialogue, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has admitted and hinted that the two nations are "moving fast towards holding talks on the core issue of Kashmir." In a panel interview to The News and Jang at his Parliament's Chamber on Tuesday, Jamali said: "Issues can be resolved through talks, as wars cannot resolve any problem." He said Pakistan and India are moving fast towards holding talks on the core issue of Kashmir.

"Yes, we are moving towards that rapidly," he replied when asked why no exclusive round of talks are being held on the core issue of Kashmir between the two South Asian neighbours.

The Pakistani leader said contrary to past diplomatic moves to start dialogue by taking up the core Kashmir issue as first item on the agenda, this time the talks were being held on several other issues falling in the realm of confidence-building measures (CBMs).

"This is being done to help the Pak-India dialogue progress before the core Kashmir issue is taken up." Jamali said since April 2003 there have been successive rounds of Indo-Pakistan dialogue on different issues at appropriate levels.

"It is in the interest of the people and governments of the two countries to hold dialogue on all issues, as our generations are suffering from this tension and whole the region is being affected for not resolving this issue," he added.

Jamali said there was no link between the nuclear issue and Kashmir problem, as Americans have never accused Pakistan of nuclear proliferation.

"Americans told us and informed us about the information they gathered from the world," said the prime minister.

"We, however, take our own decisions in view of our national priorities and nobody is asking us to do this or that." He said it was seen that being a Muslim country that was also a nuclear power other powers were not ready to release pressure on Pakistan.

To a question, the prime minister said Pakistan can play a role in ASEAN.

"We will maintain our eastward policy, as after 9/11 we have to look towards that." He said he took the nation, parliament and people into confidence over the issue of holding dialogue with India.

"Even the opposition leaders put their weight behind us in holding talks with India," said the prime minister.

About American assistance and the recent US decision of giving non-Nato ally status to Pakistan, Jamali said Pakistan is a front-line state against terrorism.

"It is our problem, it is global menace and even countries like Saudi Arabia and Singapore are confronting it," he added.

He said: "We are not mercenaries, as the menace of terrorism has crept in Pakistan as in other countries." Chavan to be political face of PM KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has appointed Prithviraj Chavan, the Minister of State in the PMO, as the "coordination minister" for keeping a liaison with the ministers in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on his behalf.

Sources in the PMO said the first task assigned to Chavan by the PM was to get in touch with certain ministers and communicate to them the PM's displeasure at the way they are creating controversies by giving statements to the Press on the policy matters.

The basic task cut out for Chavan, however, is to be a link between the Congress and the Government to ensure that there is no communication gap between them on any matter.

The PM is understood to have also told him to regularly get in touch with spokesmen of Congress to ensure that they do not make any wrong statements embarrassing the government.

Chavan will be collecting the information necessary on the subjects from the concerned ministries and communicate it to the spokesmen to be well-informed while talking to the Press.

Chavan will also be busy coordinating with the ministries for the fortnightly review of the performance of the ministries by Dr Manmohan Singh himself to keep the government and the ministers on the toe.

The PMO sources said Chavan will be the political face of the Prime Minister to deal with the politicians as Dr Manmohan Singh has realised in a month that he has a habituated bureaucratic attitude that is not liked by the politicians visiting him and it is difficult for him to change.

Sonia has second thoughts on location of her office in Vigyan Bhavan KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: Sonia Gandhi's office in her new avatar as chairman of the National CMP (common minimum programme) Implementation Advisory Council is almost ready in the Vigyan Bhawan annexe here but she is now having second thought to move in.

She is understood to have set her eye on a government bungalow on the Tughlaq Road to set up her secretariat as it is closer to the Prime Minister's House.

Sources said she has communicated to Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in PMO, to get changed the order allotting the premises in the Vigyan Bhawan for her office.

She has given her preference to No 2, Tughlaq Road.

The bungalow is presently occupied by former Union Minister C P Thakur who is yet to vacate it subsequent to his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Only once Thakur moves out, the authorities will be able to effect changes necessary to turn the bungalow into an office complex and that means the functioning of the secretariat of Sonia's advisory council will be further delayed.

The council is yet to have 20 other members to complete the forum and as such in any way it is not yet functioning to hurry with the office, the sources said.

They said the Prime Minister had left it up to Sonia Gandhi to select her team of members and the staff and she is still weighing various names.

The office of the council may be temporarily located in the Vigyan Bhawan annexe where over a dozen chambers have been got ready but it will finally move to No 2, Tughlaq Road once the renovation work is completed, the sources said.

Immediately on the day of her appointment to the council as the chairperson with the Cabinet rank, a bungalow opposite her residence was suggested for the office but at that time she preferred some other place that has atmosphere of an office and Vigyan Bhawan was felt the closest in location from her residence.

Meanwhile, Personnel Secretary Arun Bhatnagar, a UP cadre IAS officer retiring this month end, is understood to have been appointed the Secretary General of the advisory council of Sonia Gandhi.

Sources in 10 Janpath say Sonia Gandhi has indicated her preference to have experts from various field as the council members to keep a watch on implementation of the CMP.

There may not be many political leaders in the council as such as Sonia Gandhi is of the view that the politicians will be already attending the meeting of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in any case every month to review the government's performance.

Names of former Union Minister and former JNU Vice-chancellor Dr Y K Alagh, educationist Shiv Kumar and computer wizard Sam Pitroda are in circulation for appointment as members of the advisory council.

In addition to the 20-member governing body of the council, Sonia Gandhi is entitled to coopt another ten members.

Karan may replace Najama as ICCR chairman KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: The sacking of Najma Heptulla as chairman of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) is round the corner.

Names of senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh, former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, and former Union Minister Margaret Alva have been shortlisted as her successor.

The Congress leadership has asked the Government to show the door to Najma from the council.

The outgoing Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptulla has earned Sonia Gandhi's wrath for campaigning for BJP in the elections and then breaking away from the Congress after three decades of relationship to get re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on the BJP ticket.

Sources in the External Affairs Ministry, under which the council fall, say removal of Najma is definite but the decision is yet to be taken about the timing and moreover her removal should coincide with appointment of the successor to assume the office within hours of announcement.

A strategy is being given thought by External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh in tandem with Pulok Chatterjee, the joint secretary to the Prime Minister, on how and when to remove Najma from the council.